Litecoin is a cryptocurrency with a long history that goes back to 2011. Charlie Lee, an engineer who used to work for Google, analyzed Bitcoin’s source code. It inspired him to create a lighter version of Bitcoin, which he conveniently named Litecoin. The currency became one of the first alternatives to BTC in the crypto market.
Today, a single LTC is worth $84.42. Although it lost initial popularity, it still attracts investor attention. You can buy LTC with fiat currencies or swap it on most crypto exchanges for other cryptos. In this guide, we focus on the main Litecoin use cases.
- Digital Payments
Litecoin’s primary goal is to be Bitcoin’s alternative as a digital payment option. Lee developed the network with the idea of processing transactions faster than BTC. Litecoin can create a new block at a rate of approximately 150 seconds, which is 4x better compared to Bitcoin.
The unique blockchain structure and features on LTC secure fast transactions and affordable gas charges. It makes Litecoin unique for frequent and daily payments and trades in the crypto world.
Litecoin is a secure digital payment option. Its main features include:
- Segwit. The feature’s full name is segregated witness, and the goal is to improve the network’s scalability. It segregates signal data outside the chain’s core block. Thanks to that, blocks have additional space for data. Litecoin served to test the Segwit feature before Bitcoin implemented it, and the project was a success.
- Lightning Network. It’s another feature that serves to improve the chain’s scalability. The network is a layer-2 payment protocol designed on BTC with the goal of supporting fast transactions.
- MimbleWible. That privacy feature hides or encrypts transaction details, such as the amount, sender, and receiver’s details. These confidential transactions can be important for users who want their transaction info to remain private, which many find to be the reason for using crypto transfers in the first place.
- Cross-Border Transfers
If you use a crypto payment, you pick a decentralized system that bypasses traditional borders. Everything that you need is an internet connection and a platform supporting this payment type. There’s no centralized authority that limits your transactions or takes forever to process an international transfer.
Instead of transferring money to another country taking days, Litceoin can complete the transaction in minutes. It utilizes blockchain technology, which many e-commerce and other online purchase platforms adopted years ago.
The usual transaction fees on the Litecoin chain are around $0.03 to $0.04. Bitcoin’s charges per transfer are often above $4-5, making LTC a more affordable option.
Litecoin’s speed is also impressive since it can process approximately 50 transfers per second. Block validation takes around two minutes. Some chains, such as Solana, are faster, but if you want a similar option to Bitcoin, you can’t go wrong with LTC.
Although it’s still light and reliable, Litecoin’s popularity has decreased over time. However, the Litecoin price prediction indicates the forecasts are encouraging. LTC’s future will also be bright if the crypto market develops as expected.
- Decentralized Finance
Litecoin has excellent liquidity levels. A single LTC is now worth around $84, and its market cap is over $6.3 billion. You can find around 74 million LTC tokens in circulation, with the maximum supply set at 84 million.
The stability of keeping a top 20 position in the crypto rankings over the years made Litecoin an important player in the decentralized finance ecosystem. You can find LTC as a payment option in many dApps. That includes integration with platforms offering staking, borrowing, and lending. You can stake Litecoin to earn a profit over time or lend coins to others while benefitting from an interest rate.
- Blockchain-Based Identity Verification
Litecoin’s blockchain technology serves as a secure identity verification option. The chain uses a distributed ledger, which is decentralized and resistant to tampering. If you record a transaction on the ledger, it’s virtually impossible to change the details stored there. Thanks to that, data accuracy is at a maximum level, while users have maximum trust in the network.
Blockchains use cryptography to keep the information secure. You don’t have to pass through manual Know Your Customer of Anti-Money Laundering processes, which often take a lot of time, during blockchain transactions.
- Gaming and Virtual Goods
It’s not only DeFi apps that adopted Litecoin — you can also notice it in different gaming and virtual goods apps. Popular crypto games support in-app purchases with LTC, which means you can acquire items like skins, weapons, and other boosts with this coin. Thanks to that, you secure in-game progress.
Many games offer land and other assets that can be even more valuable down the road. Using LTC to purchase it now can be a smart investment from a business point of view, too.
Litecoin can serve as a payment option for purchasing virtual goods. Many platforms that sell items accept LTC as a payment option. WooCommerce is an example of a large e-commerce platform that secures Litecoin integration. Many providers adopt the Litecoin network because it’s ideal for POS payments with small amounts. From the user perspective, low fees are attractive for frequent transactions of any size.
Key Takeaways
Litecoin is the lighter version of Bitcoin that offers faster and more affordable transactions. It started as a digital payment option, but today, it features smart contract integration and even supports NFTs.
Moderate fees and fast finalizations make Litecoin ideal for daily use. Many resort to LTC for cross-border transfers and in-app purchases in decentralized apps. Litecoin developers work on expanding the list of existing use cases while creating new features and adapting the network to serve its users even better. That makes Litecoin an interesting option for investor portfolios, but it is also a great choice for fast daily transactions!