A globalized decentralized currency on the blockchain technology.
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer Internet currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world. Litecoin is an open source, global payment network that is fully decentralized without any central authorities. Mathematics secures the network and empowers individuals to control their own finances. Litecoin features faster transaction confirmation times and improved storage efficiency than the leading math-based currency. With substantial industry support, trade volume and liquidity, Litecoin is a proven medium of commerce complementary to Bitcoin.
How is Litecoin Different From Bitcoin?
Without getting too technical, there isn’t much of a difference between Litecoin and Bitcoin. Key differences include:
The rate at which transactions are confirmed: Bitcoin’s algorithm allows for one transaction to be added to the public ledger every 10 minutes, Litecoin has a faster rate of confirmation at one per 2.5 minutes. In theory, this helps avoid one of the only types of fraud that can happen with cryptocurrency: “double-spending”.
The number of coins that can ever be created: Litecoin’s algorithm will allow for a total of 84 million Litecoins to be created. This max capacity is 4 times greater than that of Bitcoin, mirroring the 4 times faster rate of transaction confirmation (confirming transactions creates new coins via a process known as “mining“).
Slight differences in cryptography algorithms: Both coins use a proof-of-work algorithm, but while Bitcoin uses the SHA256 hashing algorithm, Litecoin uses the scrypt hashing algorithm. In essence, this makes confirming Litecoin transactions more CPU-intensive on machines designed to mine Bitcoin.
Sources:
https://litecoin.org/
http://cryptocurrencyfacts.com/what-is-litecoin/
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
@novice