Cryptocurrencies are booming once again in 2020 after almost 3 years of quiet accumulation. And while new investors are coming into the scene looking for the best coins to invest in, others have already set their eyes on the most promising cryptos.
One of those coins is Litecoin. Created by Charlie Lee in 2011, Litecoin aims to solve the issues that Bitcoin is currently facing. The “older brother” is not all best for instant transactions, while fees are also pretty high. Bitcoin mining is also becoming less profitable and small-scale payments seem almost impossible.
If you recognize these issues, then you should certainly consider Litecoin as a part of your portfolio. Let us take you through some of the advantages of Litecoin, and how these could help the popular coin climb to the top once again.
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1. Litecoin offers more democratic mining
In contrast to Bitcoin’s SHA-256, Litecoin is encoded with Scrypt algorithm. Both algorithms solve mathematical problems on their supported blockchain, in order to discover the next transaction block, and get rewarded accordingly.
The difference is that Litecoin’s Scrypt uses central processing units (CPUs) for mining, which is a slower and more affordable version than the graphic processing units (GPUs) used for mining Bitcoin. In turn this makes Litecoin mining more accessible to the public and the process more democratic for all the involved parties.
In recent days, scrypt-based GPUs are starting to make an entry in the market. While we don’t know how this will affect the mining potential of Litecoin, it could lead to high-stakes mining, which is currently observed with Bitcoin.
2. Transactions are faster and cheaper
Being one of the earliest Altcoins in the cryptocurrency market, Litecoin saw a massive increase in popularity, rewarding investors and miners alike. But its popularity also increased due to its unique features (at the time).
Litecoin has 4 times the total supply of Bitcoin, at 84.000.000 coins and each block is able to process more transactions leading to faster confirmations.
This is great news for merchants worldwide, who require micro-payments to be concluded instantly. An average transaction of Litecoin takes just 2,5 minutes to complete (time required to mine a block), as compared to 10-minute transactions made with Bitcoin.
3. You can buy a whole coin for a cheap price
Many might thing that this is not necessarily a benefit since buying whole or partial coins does not have an effect on the % of gains that investors can earn.
However, buying a whole coin is more of a psychological benefit, that makes the coin a luring investment option for new users. Why buy only a small part of a Bitcoin when you can buy a whole Litecoin for the same price?
Small-cap cryptocurrencies are also more likely to see value % gains as opposed to those with a higher cap. This is because new users seek instant gratification and higher profits despite the risks involved. As such, Litecoin, which is massively undervalued at the moment, could become more profitable than Bitcoin in the next uptrend.
4. It is listed on all major exchanges
Are you looking for ways to buy Litecoin with credit card or debit card? Well then you are in luck, since all major exchanges list Litecoin on their platforms.
This offers two benefits:
- New investors can buy Litecoin easily, without having to go through complex and timely processes.
- More exchange listings means higher liquidity, which is very important for cryptocurrencies. The higher its liquidity, the higher the demand to trade the coin on open markets.
Due to being one of the earliest coins in the market, the coin has already established a positive reputation. While the future is uncertain, top-ranking coins tend to be the first choice of experienced investors during bull markets.
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How to buy Litecoin
The process of buying Litecoin is very simple, and we will walk you through the steps of the process down below.
- Visit a trustworthy exchange that lists Litecoin. This can be popular exchanges like Coinbase and Binance, or less popular platforms that are easier for beginners, like Paybis.
- Verify your identity on the selected platform and get ready to make a new transaction.
- Follow the information on the platform of your choice and purchase any amount of Litecoin.
- At this point, your Litecoin will either be stored on an exchange-based wallet or the platform itself will ask for your personal wallet address to deliver your coins instantly.
- As soon as your coins are delivered and become visible in your wallet, you are set. At this point, you are able to hold, sell or exchange your Litecoin.
Wrapping up
Litecoin is one of the most popular coins in the cryptocurrency market. Currently, it is listed as the 7th most popular coin in data platform CoinMarketCap. Being worth just a little more than $40, it is has dropped more than 80% in value over the last 3 years.
Where will it go from here? Only time can give a definitive answer. However, when looking at the current market conditions, we can see that a recovery is well under way. Pair that with the recent halving of Bitcoin, and you soon start to see an emerging pattern.
If a bull market is in sight, then Litecoin will certainly benefit from it. As such, it might be a smart idea to hold some LTC when that time arrives. This does not constitute financial advice, but simply our personal opinion.
