What Is Litecoin (LTC) and How Does It Work?
Litecoin (LTC) is a decentralized, open-source cryptocurrency created by former Google engineer Charlie Lee in October 2011 as a “lighter” fork of
Bitcoin, aiming for faster, lower-cost transactions. It uses a Proof-of-Work consensus with the Scrypt hashing algorithm, producing a new block every 2.5 minutes (vs. Bitcoin’s 10 minutes) and supporting up to ~50 transactions per second.
Like Bitcoin, Litecoin has a fixed supply of 84 million coins and relies on network fees and miner incentives to secure and validate transactions, making it well suited for everyday payments and remittances.
Who Created Litecoin and When Was It Launched?
Litecoin was created by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer, who released the open-source Litecoin client on GitHub on October 7, 2011; the network’s Genesis block went live on October 13, 2011 as a fork of Bitcoin designed for faster, lower-cost transactions.
Since launch, Litecoin has undergone several major protocol upgrades to enhance scalability, security, and privacy. In May 2017 it was the first major cryptocurrency to activate Segregated Witness (
SegWit), optimizing block space and reducing fees; in 2018, the Lightning Network was introduced on Litecoin as a
Layer 2 scaling solution; and in May 2022 Litecoin deployed MimbleWimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) to add privacy and further improve scalability.
Looking ahead, the Litecoin roadmap focuses on deepening interoperability and expanding on-chain functionality. Upcoming developments include expanded atomic swap capabilities for trustless cross-chain exchanges, support for token creation via the Omnilite protocol, and ongoing exploration of Taproot/Schnorr integration to bring additional privacy and efficiency improvements to the network.
What Are the Primary Use Cases of LTC Coin?
Litecoin is widely used for low-cost, near-instant peer-to-peer payments and micropayments, making it ideal for cross-border remittances and everyday transactions. You can also trade LTC on
BingX’s spot market by navigating to the
LTC/USDT pair under Trade → Spot, entering your order details, and executing a
market or limit order for instant access to LTC liquidity.
How Does Litecoin Differ From Bitcoin?
Litecoin was designed for faster, cheaper transactions than Bitcoin: it uses the memory-hard Scrypt hashing algorithm rather than SHA-256, produces a new block every 2.5 minutes (vs. 10 minutes), supports up to ~50 TPS (vs. ~7 TPS), and has a total supply cap of 84 million coins (vs. 21 million).
How to Mine LTC Coins on Litecoin Network
Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to mining Litecoin (LTC) on the Litecoin network:
1. Obtain and Set Up a Litecoin Wallet: Before you start mining, you need a secure place to receive your rewards. Choose a Litecoin-compatible wallet (
hardware, software, or exchange custody) and note your LTC address for payouts.
2. Select Your Mining Hardware: Litecoin is most efficiently mined with
ASIC miners that support the Scrypt algorithm (e.g., Antminer L7). CPUs and GPUs are now largely unprofitable for LTC due to high network difficulty.
3. Choose and Install Mining Software: Download Scrypt-compatible mining software such as CGMiner, BFGMiner, or EasyMiner. Install it on your mining rig and ensure it can communicate with your hardware.
4. Join a Litecoin Mining Pool: Solo mining is unlikely to yield consistent rewards. Instead, join a reputable pool (e.g., f2pool, LitecoinPool.org) so you share block-finding efforts and earn proportional payouts.
5. Configure Your Miner: In your mining software, enter:
i. Pool URL: e.g. stratum+tcp://ltc.f2pool.com:8888
ii. Username: yourPoolAccount.workerName
iii. Password: as chosen
Also add your Litecoin wallet address for payouts.
Start Mining and Monitor Performance Launch the mining software. Monitor your hash rate, accepted shares, and device temperature. Adjust fan speeds or clock settings as needed to optimize efficiency and prevent overheating.
Once everything is running, your miner will contribute to finding new LTC blocks and you’ll receive regular payouts to your wallet based on your share of the pool’s work.
What Is Litecoin Tokenomics?
Litecoin’s tokenomics are defined by a strictly capped supply, a predictable issuance schedule, and no pre-mine or
ICO, every LTC has been minted via mining rewards:
84 million LTC, four times Bitcoin’s cap of 21 million. ~75.9 million LTC in circulation as of April 29, 2025 (≈ 90% of
total supply)
Emission Schedule & Block Reward
1. Genesis block reward was 50 LTC.
2. Rewards halve every 840,000 blocks (~4 years).
2. Following the August 2, 2023 halving, miners now earn 6.25 LTC per block.
> Consensus Mechanism: Uses Scrypt-based Proof-of-Work with a 2.5-minute
block time (≈ 210,240 blocks/year), leading to a current annual issuance of ~1.31 million LTC—declining by 50% at each halving.
> Distribution Ethos: No tokens were pre-mined or sold; all LTC have been distributed fairly through mining, reinforcing Litecoin’s decentralized, “silver to
Bitcoin’s gold” positioning.
What Are Litecoin's Transaction Fees?
Litecoin transaction fees are determined by the size of your transaction in bytes and current network congestion. As of April 30, 2025, the average fee is just 0.000058 LTC (≈ $0.0049) per transaction, or roughly 0.00000021 LTC per byte, making it one of the most cost-efficient proof-of-work chains.
These fees represent only about 0.31% of the total block reward, so miners earn the vast majority of their income from block subsidies rather than fees. That low-fee model keeps Litecoin attractive for micropayments, cross-border remittances, and day-to-day purchases where minimizing cost is key.
Which Wallets Support Securely Storing Litecoins?
Most Litecoin holders secure their LTC using a mix of hardware and software wallets. Popular hardware options include the
Ledger Nano S Plus and Trezor Safe 3, which keep your private keys offline in a tamper-resistant device. On the software side, desktop wallets like Electrum-LTC and Exodus offer strong encryption and built-in recovery seeds, while mobile apps such as Trust Wallet and Zengo (which uses multi-party computation to eliminate single-point
seed-phrase risks) combine convenience with institutional-grade security.
You can also securely store Litecoin in BingX’s custodial wallet. BingX protects user assets with bank-grade cold storage,
two-factor authentication, its ShieldX security suite, and 100%
proof-of-reserves audits, ensuring your LTC is safeguarded against online threats and exchange-level risks.
What Makes Litecoin a Good Investment?
Litecoin’s long track record, deep liquidity, and growing real-world adoption underpin its investment appeal. Institutions like Luxxfolio have begun allocating Litecoin to corporate treasuries—initially purchasing 4,982 LTC to position for broader crypto payment uptake. On the merchant side, Litecoin’s share of transactions on major payment processors like BitPay climbed to 32.26% in March 2025, reflecting its utility in everyday payments and remittances.
Meanwhile, optimism around a U.S. spot Litecoin ETF, now pegged at an 81% chance of approval by Polymarket as of April 2025, could unlock fresh institutional inflows if greenlit in 2025. With a live market cap of over $6.45 billion and a top-30 ranking on CoinMarketCap, Litecoin combines deep order-book
liquidity with strong on-chain activity, making it accessible for both retail and professional investors.
On the technology front, Litecoin remains a proving ground for Bitcoin innovations while offering its own unique advantages. Its Scrypt-based Proof-of-Work and 2.5-minute block times deliver faster settlements than Bitcoin, with transaction fees averaging just a few cents—ideal for micropayments and cross-border transfers. Since activating MimbleWimble Extension Blocks in May 2022, users have the option to send confidential transactions that obfuscate amounts and addresses, boosting fungibility and privacy without altering the main ledger. With a fixed cap of 84 million LTC and halvings roughly every four years (the most recent in August 2023), Litecoin’s issuance continues to decline, reinforcing its scarcity and store-of-value narrative alongside its role as “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.”