Bitcoin vs Litecoin: Difference and Comparison

The inquisitiveness of the public in cryptocurrencies has shifted considerably during the last few years.

It has caught the considerable interest of shareholders, with whom the involvement in cryptocurrency has grown as the technology has progressed.

The key emphasis of this fascination seems to have been Bitcoin, a digital currency introduced in 2009.

Key Takeaways

  1. Litecoin processes transactions faster than Bitcoin, offering quicker confirmation times.
  2. Litecoin uses a different cryptographic algorithm, Scrypt, which is more memory-intensive than Bitcoin’s SHA-256.
  3. Litecoin has a higher total coin supply than Bitcoin, with 84 million coins compared to Bitcoin’s 21 million.

Bitcoin vs Litecoin

The difference between Bitcoin and Litecoin is that Bitcoin uses SHA-256 as part of its hashing mechanism, whereas Litecoin uses scrypt as its hashing function. Another notable difference between Bitcoin as well as Litecoin is the market valuation, which would be the total revenue market price of all coins produced.

Bitcoin vs Litecoin

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was founded in 2009 by a mysterious figure also identified as Satoshi Nakamoto. No intermediaries–that is, no banks–are involved in the transactions.

It can also be used to purchase Xbox titles, book accommodations with Expedia, as well as browse for furnishings on Overstock.

Litecoin (LTC) is amongst those cryptocurrencies that use the unique capabilities of blockchain technology to offer rapid, secure, as well as lower monthly payments.

The cryptocurrency is modeled mostly on Bitcoin (BTC) system, although there are some differences in the cryptographic hash function employed, the high limit, block transaction delays, as well as some other parameters.

Comparison Table

Parameters of ComparisonBitcoinLitecoin
DefinitionBitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was introduced in the year 2009 and can now be used for numerous digital transactions on online platforms.Litecoin is a cryptocurrency, introduced in the year 2011, keeping in mind the hype and market valuation of bitcoin.
Launch YearBitcoin was launched in the year 2009 under the anonymous name of Satoshi Nakamoto.Whereas, Litecoin was developed by a former worker from one of the tech giants Google, in the year 2011.
Hashing MechanismThe blockchain is encrypted using a cryptographic algorithm. To encrypt data, the hash method transforms inputs to a remedied return.Litcoin’s hashing mechanism is based on Scrypt. Scrypt is based onSHA-256, but its confirmation memory needs are substantially larger.
DistributionThe Bitcoin community can not ever hold more than 21 million units.Whereas, Litecoin community can hold around 84 million coins, almost 4 times than that of Bitcoin.
Transaction SpeedThe average order acceptance duration mostly on Bitcoin blockchain is roughly nine minutes every operation.Nevertheless, based on the network load, this could vary significantly. For Litecoin, the corresponding time is about 2 and a half mins.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin has been the first effective decentralized cryptocurrency and payments institution worldwide, having been made its debut in 2009 by a mystery developer identified then as Satoshi Nakamoto.

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Cryptography-a technical method of encrypting and decrypting data –is used to safeguard and verify transactions in a category of digital assets known as “cryptocurrency.”

These payments are frequently recorded on computers all around the globe using blockchain, a dispersed blockchain technology.

Bitcoin may be split up into different units called “satoshis” (up to eight decimal values) and being used for transactions, but it’s utilized as a measure of value, similar to gold.

Bitcoin may be split up into different units called “satoshis” (up to eight decimal values) and being used for transactions, but it’s employed as a measure of value, similar to gold.

This is because the cost of each unit of a bitcoin has risen dramatically from less than a penny to tens of thousands of dollars ever since its introduction.

bitcoin etf

What is Litecoin?

Litecoin (LTC) is a cryptocurrency introduced in the market by a former employee from Google named Charlie Lee during the year 2011, just 2 years after Bitcoin first launched.

Litecoin, just like Bitcoin, is built on an increasingly globalized payments system that is not regulated. 

The use of Scrypt as a concrete evidence mechanism distinguishes Litecoin from Bitcoin. It is one of the first cryptocurrencies to be created using Bitcoin’s open-source software.

It was a formidable rival to Bitcoin. Litecoin’s reputation has fallen significantly since this cryptocurrency market has gotten considerably more cluttered and aggressive with newer products.

Litecoin has long been seen as a counter-measure to Bitcoin. In reality, Lee dubbed Litecoin as the “lite form of Bitcoin” ever since he first unveiled it on a popular Cryptocurrency forum. 

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As a result, Litecoin shares many of Bitcoin’s attributes while also modifying and tweaking those parts that even the design team felt should be upgraded.

Litecoins are created by an elaborate cryptocurrency procedure called mining, which involves processing a list of Litecoin transactions.

litecoin

Main Differences Between Bitcoin and Litecoin

  1. Litecoins are created more quickly than Bitcoin, yet Bitcoin is far more valuable. Bitcoin may be preferable if a person wants more coins for a lower price, while Litecoin may be preferable if you want more coins for a lower price.
  2. In comparison to bitcoin, Lite coin uses a lot lesser energy. Each new transaction is recorded on the lite currency blockchain, which takes approximately 2.5 minutes to complete.
  3. Bitcoin trades with a partitioned witness account for 39.60 percent of all transactions. The lite currency has a compartmentalized witness for 99.80% of operations. The average number of blocks every hour for bitcoin is 6. The median block every hour for the light coin is 24.
  4. Bitcoin’s first reward was 50 BTC; however, it is currently 25 BTC. The lite coin’s original reward was 50 LTC, as well as the present block reward is 50 LTC as well.
  5. Talking about Bitcoin, its block size restrictions are 8 MB, while the block size restrictions of Litecoin seem to be 1 MB.
Difference Between Bitcoin and Litecoin
References
  1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00036846.2019.1588951
  2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1544612319310189

Last Updated : 13 July, 2023

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