Litecoin is said to be “the silver to Bitcoin’s gold”, a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. Technically, it is nearly identical to Bitcoin and is based off of Bitcoin’s code. It differs from Bitcoin in the following ways: It processes blocks every 2.5 minutes as opposed to Bitcoin’s 10, utilizes scrypt for its proof-of-work algorithm, and its maximum circulation is 84 million, 4 times as much as Bitcoin’s.
Litecoin was among the first altcoins to be patterned after bitcoin as it was created in October 2011 by Charlie Lee. A former Google employee, Lee was hired by bitcoin consumer and merchant tools and marketplace firm Coinbase in 2013, but continues to be involved with ongoing development of litecoins.
Following bitcoin, litecoin is arguably the best known and sports the second highest market cap, having a total supply that briefly exceeded $1 billion in late 2013. Other than bitcoin, litecoin is the most available crypto-currency for trading and merchant purposes, with support being offered by such firms as GoCoin, BTC-e, BTC China, Bitfinex, and Huobi. In April 2014, GoCoin processed the purchase of a Tesla Model S with litecoins, which was believed to be the made using the crypto currency.
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