What is Litecoin (LTC) and what is it used for?

Litecoin is a cryptocurrency launched in October 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer who later worked at Coinbase. What is Litecoin used for? Mostly sending money quickly and cheaply. It was built from Bitcoin's code with a few changes, so it shares much of Bitcoin's design.

Litecoin vs Bitcoin: what is the difference?

Litecoin and Bitcoin work in a similar way. Both use proof of work, where miners compete to add new blocks, and both have a fixed supply. The main differences are:

• Speed. Litecoin aims to produce a block every 2.5 minutes, compared with about 10 minutes for Bitcoin.
• Supply. Litecoin's maximum supply is 84 million coins, four times Bitcoin's 21 million.
• Mining algorithm. Litecoin uses an algorithm called Scrypt instead of Bitcoin's SHA-256. It was chosen to reduce the edge of specialized mining hardware. See how crypto mining works.

Litecoin has also served as a testing ground. It was the first major coin to adopt Segregated Witness, or SegWit, in May 2017, an upgrade that changed how transaction data is stored. In May 2022 it added MWEB, an optional feature that can hide transaction details for users who choose it.

How does the Litecoin halving work?

Miners are paid in newly created LTC. Every 840,000 blocks, roughly every four years, that reward is cut in half. This is the Litecoin halving, and it slows the creation of new coins.

According to BitPay, the reward fell from 50 to 25 LTC in August 2015, to 12.5 LTC in August 2019 and to 6.25 LTC on August 2, 2023. The next halving is expected around 2027. The process continues until rewards effectively reach zero, projected around 2142. Bitcoin follows the same pattern, explained in our guide to the Bitcoin halving.

What does a Litecoin address look like?

A Litecoin address is the string you share to receive LTC. There are three common types:

• Legacy addresses start with "L." They are the oldest format and tend to cost more to use.
• SegWit addresses start with "M." They lower fees compared with Legacy.
• Native SegWit addresses start with "ltc1." They are all lowercase, which cuts the chance of typing errors, and usually carry the lowest fees.

Copy and paste addresses rather than typing them, and check the first and last characters. A single wrong character can send funds to the wrong place. A small test payment before a large one is a common habit.

What is a Litecoin wallet?

A Litecoin wallet is software or a device that holds the private keys controlling your LTC and creates addresses for you. Options range from exchange accounts to phone apps to hardware wallets. Whichever you use, make sure it supports Litecoin specifically, because sending LTC to an address on another network can mean losing it.

Crypto prices are volatile and a coin like LTC can lose most of its value.