What Is Litecoin LTC?
Litecoin is a global payment network that enables payments to be made instantaneously to anyone in the world at a cost of almost nothing, through the medium of the peer-to-peer internet currency LTC. Litecoin was one of the first forks of Bitcoin and created in 2011 by computer engineer Charlie Lee
Other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, can be slow and expensive to send, especially when the network is busy, meaning they’re not well suited to making payments. Litecoin, however, is ideal for this purpose and is accepted by over 2,000 merchants around the world, making it one of the most widely accepted cryptocurrencies.
Litecoin was based on the Bitcoin protocol and intended to be a “lite” version of Bitcoin, but there are a number of differences between the two. They have different maximum supplies and although both are secured by a Proof of Work consensus mechanism, Litecoin uses a different mining algorithm with a faster block time.
Ways to Invest in Litecoin
There are different ways of investing in Litecoin, depending on your goals and preferences. The cryptocurrency can be bought for either the long term or the short term and we shall explore what each option has to offer below.
Buy LTC and hold it
The buy and hold strategy has a pretty self-explanatory name and can be undertaken by anyone, regardless of skills and previous experience. You don’t have to spend lots of time watching and analysing the market to make a profit with this strategy, and can read our Litecoin forecast.
Litecoin can’t be staked while you hold it as it is a Proof of Work network secured by mining.
Best Litecoin wallets
If you've decided on buying Litecoin or any cryptocurrency investments you'll need a crypto wallet to put it in. Those holding LTC for the long term may prefer to store their coins in a private wallet, as this provides true ownership of your assets and can be more secure. Private wallets tend to be either software or hardware.
Software crypto wallets can be downloaded onto a mobile or desktop computer and are generally free and easy to use. Hardware wallets can be expensive and less user intuitive but provide the best security. Popular hardware brands include Trezor, BitBox, and Ledger.
Trade Litecoin LTC
Like most cryptocurrencies, LTC can be pretty volatile. This is something that can be to the benefit of traders, who generate more frequent returns by buying and selling LTC over shorter timeframes.
Traders may find private wallets inconvenient as they would have to transfer their coins between their wallets and exchange regularly. Exchanges tend to provide free web wallets which may be better suited to traders.
Should I Buy Litecoin LTC Now?
This is ultimately up to you, although we can supply you with information about the fundamentals and potential of Litecoin. As with Bitcoin, Litecoin has a hard supply cap and this in-built scarcity could make it a good long-term store of value.
Unlike Bitcoin, Litecoin’s speed and low cost make it convenient for point-of-sale payments and microtransactions. This could drive demand for the coin from people wanting an efficient way to make peer-to-peer and global payments.
Litecoin development is ongoing and the future introduction of confidential transactions could see it attract even more users. With the number of merchants accepting LTC growing, it appears to be one of the most useful and enduring cryptocurrencies around.
