Bitcoin is the main thing that started it all. From being a fairly unknown technology back in 2009, it has grown into worldwide fame, and is a coin accepted by every merchant who decided to accept cryptocoins as a payment method. Many online vendors will have the "Bitcoin Accepted" logo side by side with wathever other methods they accept such as credit cards, PayPal, etc.
While Bitcoin has been growing in acceptance, it has some problems: Relatively high transaction fees and slow confirmation times. Buying Bitcoin as an investment might be a good idea, after all, it is always prone to go higher in price. But it is not so great if you want to order some coffee and a donut from a local coffee shop that accepts crypto. There has been circumstances in which my Bitcoin transfers have taken several hours before even being acknowledged by the receiving party. It might not be fast enough for something casual.
Upon the creation of Bitcoin, many alternative coins, or "alt-coins" emerged. A notable one is Litecoin. Its transfer fee is low and it confirms fast, often within a minute or less. Sounds like a better payment choice for the coffee shop scenario described above. Another great thing about Litecoin is that virtually all coin exchange websites buy and sell it, so it is easy for a merchant to trade them for bitcoins or wathever else, without rush.
Many online merchants such as Gyft and eGifter accept both Bitcoin and Litecoin, and several other coins. But I still keep running into "Bitcoin only" merchants and, quite frankly, I would suggest them to expand their options. It will not hurt to add Litecoin as a payment option too. Anytime I can pay using Litecoin, I always use it over Bitcoin, any day.
Agree? Disagree? Comments? Questions?
