Litecoin (LTC) is a cryptocurrency designed to provide fast, secure, and low-cost payments by leveraging the unique properties of blockchain technology. To gain a deeper understanding of this project, consider exploring our comprehensive analysis of Litecoin. This cryptocurrency was created based on the Bitcoin (BTC) protocol, but it differs in aspects such as the hashing algorithm, hard cap, block transaction times, and several other factors. Litecoin features a block time of just 2.5 minutes and has extremely low transaction fees, making it suitable for micro-transactions and point-of-sale payments. Litecoin was released via an open-source client on GitHub on October 7, 2011, and the Litecoin Network went live five days later on October 13, 2011. Since its inception, Litecoin has experienced significant growth in both usage and acceptance among merchants, consistently ranking among the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization for most of its existence. The cryptocurrency was created by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee, with the intention of developing Litecoin as a "lite version of Bitcoin," incorporating many of the same characteristics as Bitcoin, albeit with a lighter framework.

As previously mentioned, Litecoin was established by Charlie Lee, an early adopter of cryptocurrency and a highly regarded figure in the cryptocurrency sector. Charlie Lee, also known as "Chocobo," is an early Bitcoin miner and computer scientist. He previously worked as a software engineer at Google and served as the director of engineering at Coinbase from 2015 to 2017 before pursuing other ventures. Currently, Charlie Lee is a prominent advocate for cryptocurrencies and serves as the managing director of the Litecoin Foundation—a non-profit organization that collaborates with the Litecoin Core Development team to promote the advancement of Litecoin. In addition to Lee, the board of directors of the Litecoin Foundation comprises three other distinguished individuals: Xinxi Wang, Alan Austin, and Zing Yang, each accomplished in their respective fields.

Litecoin holds the position as the second most popular pure cryptocurrency, following Bitcoin. This achievement is primarily due to its straightforward nature and distinct utility advantages. As of January 2021, Litecoin ranks among the most widely accepted cryptocurrencies, with over 2,000 merchants and stores globally now accepting LTC. The primary advantage of Litecoin lies in its speed and cost-efficiency. Transactions conducted via Litecoin are typically confirmed within minutes, and the associated transaction fees are almost negligible. This makes Litecoin a compelling alternative to Bitcoin, particularly in developing countries, where transaction fees might influence which cryptocurrency is supported. In late 2020, the MimbleWimble (MW) testnet was introduced for Litecoin, facilitating the testing of Mimblewimble-based confidential transactions. Once integrated into the mainnet, Litecoin users can anticipate significantly improved privacy and fungibility.

Like most proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies, the supply of Litecoin in circulation gradually increases with each newly mined block. As of January 2021, approximately 66.245 million LTC have been mined out of a total maximum supply of 84 million. The Litecoin Foundation estimates it will take over 100 years for Litecoin to reach full dilution, around the year 2140, due to the decreasing number of LTC mined per block every four years as a result of the block reward halving schedule. Approximately 500,000 LTC was instamined on the first day after the LTC genesis block was mined, with Charlie Lee and presumably other early Litecoin developers among the initial miners. Nevertheless, as a fairly distributed asset, neither the Litecoin developers nor Charlie Lee receive any direct profits from Litecoin's operation—beyond what they might earn through regular mining. When Litecoin was listed on several markets in 2011, its price was $0.30. Between November and December 2013, Litecoin experienced a significant bull run, with prices reaching a high of $44.73. However, the bear market and the Mt. Gox hack led to a crash in Litecoin prices in 2014, with prices consolidating in the $2 to $4 range for several years. In November and December 2017, Litecoin's price surged by over 500% to $358.34, driven by the cryptocurrency bull market. Litecoin achieved an all-time high during the latest crypto bull run in May 2021, reaching $386.45 on May 9, 2021.

Litecoin, a blockchain-based cryptocurrency, is safeguarded by robust cryptographic defenses, rendering it virtually impervious to breaches. Similar to Bitcoin and various other cryptocurrencies, Litecoin employs the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithm to ensure transactions are confirmed swiftly and accurately. The collective power of the Litecoin mining network protects against double-spending and various other attacks, while guaranteeing uninterrupted network availability.

Litecoin is among the select cryptocurrencies that offer a wide range of fiat trading pairs, allowing for exchanges with U.S. dollars (USD), Korean won (KRW), euros (EUR), and more. Leading platforms facilitating these exchanges include Huobi Global, Binance, Coinbase Pro, OKEx, and Kraken. To view the live price of Litecoin in your preferred fiat currency, Eulerpool provides a converter feature directly on the Litecoin currency page. Additionally, a dedicated exchange rate converter page is available. Commonly tracked Litecoin price pairs are: LTC/USD, LTC/GBP, LTC/KRW, and LTC/EUR.

The Litecoin Foundation announced the much-anticipated Mimblewimble Extension Block (MWEB) upgrade as part of the Litecoin Core 0.21.2 release candidate on January 31, 2022. MWEB represents what is described as "the largest upgrade to the Litecoin network ever," aiming to enhance fungibility for all users while improving the network's scalability. MWEB will be an opt-in feature, positioning Litecoin as the "most fungible, cash-like cryptocurrency in the space." The release will also include the Taproot upgrade, which focuses on enhancing security and privacy.

MimbleWimble is an upgrade designed to enhance privacy for users transacting on the network. Originally proposed through a Litecoin Improvement Proposal in November 2019, this upgrade aimed to improve anonymity between senders and receivers. Following the MimbleWimble upgrade at Litecoin block 2,257,920, users could opt for enhanced transaction privacy and take advantage of other benefits, such as blocks containing reduced unnecessary transaction data. Specifically, lengthy transactions are simplified into a single transfer by recording one input-output pair. The MimbleWimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) upgrade was successfully activated on May 19, 2022. However, this upgrade places Litecoin in the scrutiny of regulators who are wary of privacy-enhancing cryptocurrencies. The impact of this upgrade became evident when several South Korean exchanges began delisting Litecoin from their platforms shortly after the MWEB upgrade implementation. Exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax have removed LTC due to the MimbleWimble upgrade, as it makes compliance with the Act on the Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information challenging. According to South Korean regulations, crypto exchanges are required to prevent money laundering and illicit activities by any means necessary, which includes removing any currencies that offer users heightened privacy or anonymity.