Litecoin, or the “lite version of Bitcoin,” is a cryptocurrency that shares many features with Bitcoin but offers several advantages designed to make it more practical for everyday transactions like buying coffee or ordering online. Its native token is Litecoin (LTC).

Although it also uses the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism to mine new coins and confirm transactions, it offers lower transaction fees than Bitcoin. It is also much faster. New Litecoin blocks are generated every 2.5 minutes, compared to around 10 minutes with Bitcoin, which makes Litecoin’s transaction confirmation times much faster. Litecoin also undergoes periodic "halving" events, similar to Bitcoin, which reduce the rewards for mining new blocks by half and keeps the value of the coin from inflating over time.

Compared to Bitcoin, which has a maximum supply of 21 million coins, Litecoin has a market cap of 84 million coins. This larger supply cap makes Litecoin more accessible to users due to lower prices per coin and also helps lessen the risk that most of the coins will be in the hands of only a few rich users.

Litecoin users vouch for it because it’s fast, cost-effective, user-friendly, and available on many major exchanges.  Developers are currently working on new features that could improve privacy and scalability as the network continues to grow.

Curious about other cryptocurrencies like Avalanche and Cardano? Check out our other short guides!

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