Both Bitcoin and Litecoin are popular and widely-used cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, invented in 2008 by an unknown individual, known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Litecoin was created in 2011, as a “fork” of Bitcoin, utilizing its source code to create a brand new cryptocurrency.
Litecoin is the very first “altcoin”, which is a category of cryptocurrency encompassing anything other than Bitcoin.
The truth is, Litecoin was created to address some of the biggest shortfalls of the Bitcoin Network, such as transaction speed and network capacity. Although there are many similarities between those two, there are also many differences when it comes to their creation, and investment opportunities.
Main differences between Bitcoin and Litecoin
As we already mentioned, Bitcoin came out as the first cryptocurrency, back in 2008, with a white paper explaining all of its technical specifications. It remained relatively niche for a couple of years, the launching of Bitcoin put the beginning of a decentralized digital currency revolution, and it forever changed the way value is sent over the world.
Of course, after the launch of this brand-new technology, many people started looking for ways to improve upon it. Not long after Bitcoin’s launch, Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer, started looking for ways to improve what was already created. Litecoin was launched in October 2011, as the first “fork” of the Bitcoin blockchain. This means it is based on the same source code, but has some updates and modifications.
Main similarities between Bitcoin and Litecoin
As you might guess, both Bitcoin and Litecoin are decentralized digital currencies, functioning outside the authority of any central regulatory body. They can be found, purchased and sold on different crypto exchanges, converted to fiat money, and enable rapid peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange of value all over the world.
Another similarity between Bitcoin and Litecoin is their maximum supply. Both are popular to exchange for goods and services, and many merchants accept direct payments in Bitcoin, as well as in Litecoin.
Bitcoin or Litecoin - which is a better investment
Like other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Litecoin have been up and down since their launches.
Both cryptocurrencies reached their all-time high in the four-year period between 2017 and 2021, and in that period we can see how both of them performed as an investment.
On September first, 2017, the price of Bitcoin was $4,600, and the price of Litecoin was about $79. Four years later, on September first, 2021, the price of Bitcoin was $47,000, and the price of Litecoin was $183.
Depending on how much someone had bought, both Litecoin and Bitcoin have increased their value, so the investors could make good profit out of it.
So whether you choose Bitcoin, or Litecoin, both have proven to be a worthy investment. Of course, you shouldn’t forget that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, meaning that you must always invest carefully.
Is Bitcoin or Litecoin better for making payments?
We can definitely say that Litecoin had a major edge at inception as a leaner and faster version of Bitcoin. Of course, since the beginning there have been some big advancements for Bitcoin, bringing Bitcoin’s speed and transactions costs more in line with Litecoin.
And still, Litecoin transaction costs are just a few cents, compared to several dollars for Bitcoin. Moreover, Litecoin offers faster transaction speed with 56 transactions per second, as opposed to 7 transactions per second for Bitcoin.
Final words
Both Bitcoin and Litecoin can be seen as interesting investment assets. They serve a variety of purposes, and as we can see, have many similarities. However, if you are looking for an investment opportunity, we suggest you do proper research into their historic prices, features, and function, to receive a clearer picture, and find the best investment asset for you.
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