Bitcoin is the first successful decentralized peer-to-peer digital currency based on blockchain technology. It is often compared to gold. BTC is not minted, but mined, and the creator limited the supply of coins to 21 million. The Bitcoin payment network was launched in 2009, but it quickly turned out that the system is imperfect and does not fully satisfy the needs of users. This circumstance has become one of the prerequisites for the emergence of forks - more perfect versions of the original algorithm that can compete with it. AND

How Litecoin Differs from Bitcoin

One of the first such versions was Litecoin, based on the same principles as BTC and based on Bitcoin software. The decentralized global payment network Litecoin was created to correct the shortcomings of Bitcoin and launched in 2011. LTC was to become digital silver, similar to Bitcoin's virtual gold.

• The key differences from the original coin boil down to two points:
• For primary hashing during LTC mining, the Scrypt algorithm is used.

A new block is formed in 2.5 minutes (for comparison: the time it takes for a Bitcoin block to form is 10 minutes). A high block formation rate means that transactions that are one block deep are guaranteed to be confirmed faster.

However, it must be remembered that more blocks will be required to confirm equal strength in the Litecoin network.

The Litecoin network is designed to create 84 million blocks. The starting reward for the mined block was 50 coins. The amount of the reward is halved every 840,000 blocks and currently, the reward is 12.5 LTC

Since Scrypt is used as a proof-of-work algorithm, mining requires significantly more computing power.

Will Litecoin ever outshine its parent - time will tell. While there are no clear preconditions for this, the current LTC to BTC rate is close to 262: 1.

Improving Litecoin Performance

During the existence of LTC, several new functions have been implemented in the network. All of them are aimed at increasing the speed of transactions and maintaining the original integrity and security of the network.

SegWit

Segregated Witness (SegWit) was developed back in 2015 for Bitcoin to address scalability issues. SegWit works by 'splitting' the digital signal data outside of the base unit. As the idea sparked a lot of controversy in the Bitcoin community, its implementation was delayed.

Two years later, the feature was launched on the Litecoin network. SegWit tests were successful, it proved its viability and effectiveness, after which it was implemented in the Bitcoin network. Against the background of controversy over the implementation of SegWit, another Bitcoin fork was created - Bitcoin Cash

Lightning Network

It is a second-layer technology that uses micropayment channels to empower the blockchain.

Actually, as in the previous case, the Litecoin network served as a testing ground for the Lightning Network.

MimbleWimble

The MimbleWimble privacy protocol should increase scalability and reduce block size. It is based on confidential transactions that encrypt information about the amount of the transaction. Today this protocol is still under development.

Market Performance and Outlook for LTC

At the moment, the coin is in the TOP-20 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, which has reached $ 17 billion.

Low transaction costs and fast confirmation of transactions contribute to the growth of LTC popularity. The coin is gradually becoming a means of payment and this is a good signal for potential investors. On the whole, expert forecasts are more optimistic compared to the Vechain price prediction. Experts agree that the price of the asset will continue to grow in the foreseeable future, however, estimates of the levels of new highs and the possible timing of their achievement vary greatly.