STEEMIT CRYPTO ACADEMY/ SEASON 2: part 1"looking beyond Bitcoin"

Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that enables instant payments to anyone in the world, it was launched in the year 2011 by the former google and coinbase engineer Charlie Lee. He copied the bitcoin codebase and then increased the total supply, then he changed the speed at which new blocks are being added to the blockchain.

image source

The similarities that exist between bitcoin and litcoin is;
PROOF OF WORK
They are both decentralized cryptocurrencies,
Both cryptocurrencies are mined in other words, they are generated,authenticated and then added to a public ledger or blockchain.

STORAGE AND TRANSACTIONS
Both currencies can be bought through exchange or mined using a mining rig and both require a digital or storage in other words "wallet" in order to be safely stored.

On the other hand, the differences that exist between bitcoin and litecoin include;

DISTRIBUTION
The bitcoin network can never exceed 21 million coins whereas the litecoin network can accommodate up to 84 million coins.

ALGORITHM
The most fundamental technical diference between bitcoin and litecoin are the different cryptographic algorithms that they both employ. Bitcoin makes use of the long standing SHA-256 algorithm whereas Litecoin makes use of a comparatively new algorithm known as Scrypt.

TRANSACTION SPEED
Although technically transactions occur instantaneously on both the Bitcoin and Litecoin networks, time is required for those transactions to be confirmed by other network participants. Litecoin was founded with the goal of prioritizing transaction speed, and that has proven an advantage as it has grown in popularity.

Given all the hoopla around its prices and market cap, it may seem that Litecoin exists mainly to be bought and sold back and forthIts relative speed and cheapness make it ideal for smaller, everyday transactions. Participants operate directly, without the use of an intermediary like a bank, credit card company, or payment processing service.

HOW TO TRADE LITECOIN

When ever you buy Litecoin on a market place, its price is usually based on that of the US Dollar (USD). In other words, you are selling US dollars in order to buy Litecoin and thus If the price of Litecoin increases, you will be able to sell it and thus generate a profit.

WHAT INFLUENCES LITECOIN PRICES

Supply : There is a total number of Litecoins (84 million) available for mining. In addition, availability fluctuates depending on the rate at which they enter the market.

Press : Litecoin prices can be affected by public perception, safety and longevity as well as the price of other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

Adoption : At present, litecoin has not been widely adopted by businesses and consumers as a means of payment. But some see potential in blockchain technology and believe it could be adopted much more widely in the future.

@yohan2on
@steemcurator01
@steemcurator02
@steemcurator03
@steemcurator04
@booming01
@booming02