The Litecoin market is booming! In the last few years, Litecoin has surpassed many other cryptocurrencies to become one of the most in-demand currencies in the market. They are easy to use, powerful, and still dominating the industry.
Litecoin is the second biggest cryptocurrency in the world. It was made with the intent to act as an alternative to Bitcoins. The founder of Litecoin, Charlie Lee, came up with the idea for this currency after observing anomalies in the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin transactions are too slow at 7 transactions per minute. Lee wanted to develop a better, faster, and more flexible alternative. So, he developed the Litecoin cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency can complete a single transaction in 2.5 minutes where Bitcoin completes it in 10 minutes.
Apart from that, it can process 56 transactions per minute while Bitcoin is stuck at 7 transactions per minute.
This made Litecoin the ‘silver’ of cryptocurrencies where Bitcoin was called as the ‘gold’. However, in comparison with the BTC market share, Litecoin market share is considerably smaller at $20 billion only. It currently ranks as the 7th biggest cryptocurrency with a single coin price of $44 as of the writing of this report.
Let’s learn a little more about Litecoin’s inception and its market conditions for future investment.
What Is Litecoin?
Litecoin was launched in 2011 to change the status quo of Bitcoin in the cryptocurrency market. It was started as a decentralized blockchain with a transparent network. The cryptocurrency offers peer-to-peer transactions and uses the same code that runs the Bitcoin transactions.
So, in a way, it would not be wrong to say that Litecoin is a child of Bitcoin. However, it was made even more secure by altering the blockchain code further. Although Litecoin is a lot younger than Bitcoin, it has increased the cryptocurrency exchanges because of multiple transactions per second and reduced time per transaction.
However, recent cryptocurrencies such as Ripple have even surpassed Litecoin and they can do 1,500 transactions per second. But that is another story.
Best Exchange to Buy Litecoin in 2020 – Etoro
 |
Excellent Reputation |
Regulated PlatformVariety of CoinsAvailable via App |
66% of retail investors lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
Pros & Cons of Litecoin
✅Currently stand at 7th place in the crypto market
✅Can transfer coins in under 2.5 minutes. Bitcoin takes over 10 minutes to do the same
✅Make 56 transactions per minute for Bitcoin it was 7 transactions per minute
✅Has a multi-billion dollar market cap making it one of the biggest cryptocurrencies to trade with
✅Allows fractionalization. This means you can buy 0.01 or 0.1 Litecoins instead of a complete Litecoin
✅Directly buy Litecoins with your fiat currency instead of replacing it with another cryptocurrency
❌Has a smaller market share than Bitcoins
❌It didn’t spread as Ethereum and Bitcoin did
❌List of Things to Consider When Buying Litecoin
How to Buy & Handle Litecoin?
Now that you know everything about the history of Litecoins, let’s learn how to buy them and from where.
Select a Deposit Method
To buy Litecoins, you will first have to select a lite coin exchange. Binance is one of the most top-rated cryptocurrency exchanges in the market. You can use it to buy Litecoins or select another one of your choices.
Once you have selected a Litecoin exchange, just make sure that it supports the deposit methods you will use. If you have PayPal, that’s good because most exchanges have support for PayPal. If you have a Visa or a Debit card, then that is even better because they are globally accepted payment methods.
Nonetheless, it depends on the exchange. So, make sure that you are familiar with the deposit methods before making your account on it. Similarly, it is also important to understand the transaction fee per transaction. Most exchanges charge per transaction.
Some charge per coin in the transaction. The transaction fee can vary for each exchange. On top of it, you will have to pay a 4% flat fee for Visa or Debit card transactions. If you are using PayPal, the fees will be 2.5%.
You can also use a cryptocurrency exchange method also known as a crypto-to-crypto exchange. In this method, you replace one crypto coin for another. So, if you have Bitcoins in your wallet. You can ask the exchange to simply send you a few Litecoins for the price of Bitcoins. In this way, you won’t have to pay any fees to payment gateways.
KYC
Know Your Customer (KYC) third party cryptocurrency payment solutions also exist in the market. So, if you are looking to buy Litecoins from a third party dealer, you will have to provide them your personal details so that they can keep a record in their database.
The details they would usually require include your Country’s identity card, your address, and your bank account details. These ensure that the Litecoins will not be used in any type of illegal activity.
KYC usually has a different rate for Litecoins in comparison with the exchange because they sell directly to their customers for investment. Also, they will only deal with fiat currency. So, if you are looking for a crypto-to-crypto exchange, then KYC is not probably the right option.
Buying Litecoin vs Trading CFDs
There are also trading CFDs that you can use to buy Litecoins. The contract for Difference (CFD) first allows you to trade on cryptocurrency prices. You will put your money not directly on Litecoins but if they will increase in value or decrease in value.
You will profit or lose money depending on the choice you make. In the CFD account, you will not have Litecoins in your wallet. So, make sure to read more about the terms of how CFDs operate and whether it is the game for you.
CFDs also provide binary trading for Litecoins. So, if you are interested in making quick money by speculating Litecoin prices then they may be the right choice for you.
Regulation and Security
Litecoins operate on a secure blockchain network and they are fully secure. Hackers have not been successful until now in disrupting the blockchain behind Litecoin. However, they have infiltrated many crypto exchanges and stolen cryptocurrency worth millions of dollars.
So, when buying Litecoins make sure that you keep all your money secure in a hardware wallet and not with a crypto exchange. This will ensure that your Litecoin investments are always fully protected with you.
Where to Spend Your Litecoin?
You can buy almost anything with Litecoins that you want online. Litecoin is accepted at many eCommerce stores and you can use them to shop for both soft and hard products.
Apart from that, Litecoins are also accepted in some brick-and-mortar stores in the US. So, make sure to visit a list of stores that accept Litecoins before taking your crypto wallet with you.
Where to Store Your Litecoin?
Litecoin is stored in crypto wallets just like other cryptocurrencies. You can use a paper wallet, a hardware wallet, or a crypto wallet app on your desktop or smartphone. We have discussed each one of these in detail below.
Web Wallet
Web wallets are the most widely used way of storing cryptocurrencies. However, web wallets are not always secure. Cryptocurrency exchanges have their own web wallets where they store Litecoin public and private keys.
The problem with Web wallets is that they are more prone to hacking. Now, if your wallet is with a crypto exchange that gets hacked, hackers can also steal your keys. If they have the keys, they have your Litecoin. There is literally nothing you can do about it.
However, they are also a highly convenient way of storing your keys. You may not have a hardware wallet with you at all times. But if you are interested in trading with Litecoins, you can use the web wallet for instant trading.
So, web wallets have their pros and cons. To use them for storing your Litecoin cryptocurrency completely depends on your needs.
Mobile Wallet
The next way of storing Litecoin in crypt wallets is on smartphones. You can get secure apps that can store the cryptocurrency keys on your mobile wallet. Here is how the process works.
You download a quality cryptocurrency wallet app. The wallet app is standalone this means it won’t share your keys online with the exchange.
You will get Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for storing the cryptocurrency keys in it. This means your mobile wallet is secure even if someone gets a hang of it. You can only open it when you have the 2FA authenticated.
A mobile wallet is comparatively secure than a web wallet. It is a simple and fast way of storing cryptocurrency off-the-grid. You can also carry the keys anywhere you want in an encrypted format.
Hardware Wallet
Last but not the least, you can get a hardware wallet to store your Litecoins. These are the most secure form of cryptocurrency wallets for Litecoin currency. You can get them from Ledger and Trezor. Hardware wallets are completely off-the-grid.
Moreover, their keys are changed on a regular basis. This means you can’t use the passkey again after the day has passed. This makes them highly difficult to penetrate. Also, because they are with the person at all times, they are more secure than other forms.
Here is how hardware Litecoin wallet works. You get a hardware wallet, add the required 2FA information. Now, every day you will receive a passcode on your email ID and phone.
You also need to have the hardware wallet connected to the Bluetooth of your smartphone to authenticate it. This means no one can crack them open without having your phone, your email account, and the passcodes.
Is Litecoin a Noteworthy Cryptocurrency?
In short – yes, it is. It is one of the most recognizable cryptocurrencies across the globe. Even if you’re a complete novice, you’ve head of Litecoin at this point.
You can store Litecoin for value, you can use it to purchase goods and services, and you can trade it for profit on exchanges. It is one of the most versatile cryptocurrencies, and it should definitely be on your radar.
Best Exchange to Buy Litecoin in 2020 – Etoro
| |
Excellent Reputation |
Regulated PlatformVariety of CoinsAvailable via App |
66% of retail investors lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
