Litecoin (LTC) is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that strives to provide fast and low-cost payments by leveraging the unique properties of blockchain technology. It was created in 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee, who intended Litecoin to be a "lite version of Bitcoin," featuring many of the same properties as Bitcoin but lighter in weight. Litecoin was actually created as a fork of Bitcoin. A fork happens whenever a community makes a change to the blockchain's protocol or basic set of rules. Forks creates a second blockchain that shares all of its history with the original but is headed off in a new direction. It differs in terms of the hashing algorithm used, hard cap, block transaction times, and a few other factors. With a block time of just 2.5 minutes and low transaction fees, Litecoin aims to be suitable for micro-transactions and point-of-sale payments.

Litecoin operates on a blockchain-based system. Like Bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies, Litecoin uses the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithm to aim to confirm transactions. The Litecoin mining network seeks to prevents double-spends and a range of other attacks while aiming to maintain network uptime. As of November 2023, 73.9 million LTC have already been mined out of a total maximum supply of 84 million.

Litecoin seeks to be accepted by a wide range of merchants, with over 2,000 merchants and stores accepting LTC across the globe as of January 2021. Litecoin's pursuit of speed and cost-effectiveness seeks to position it as an alternative to Bitcoin in developing countries, where transaction fees may be the deciding factor on which cryptocurrency to support. In late 2020, Litecoin also saw the release of the MimbleWimble (MW) testnet, which is used to test MimbleWimble-based confidential transactions on Litecoin. Officially deployed on Litecoin's block height of 2,257,920, this feature aimed to make Litecoin's users benefit from improved privacy and fungibility.

Litecoin was created by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee, who intended Litecoin to be a "lite version of Bitcoin", and was released via an open-source client on GitHub on Oct. 7, 2011. The Litecoin Network went live five days later on Oct. 13, 2011. Since then, it has seen an increase in usage and acceptance among merchants and has counted among the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization for most of its existence. Today, Charlie Lee supports the use of cryptocurrencies and is the managing director of the Litecoin Foundation—a non-profit organization that works alongside the Litecoin Core Development team to help advance Litecoin.

Like Bitcoin, Litecoin is a digital currency that can be used to buy things at places where it's accepted and to transfer funds between accounts.

Litecoin, created as a fork of Bitcoin, maintains many similarities with its predecessor in terms of fundamental logic and architecture. It closely mirrors Bitcoin's use and design, offering itself as a viable alternative for transactions. Notably, Litecoin has been adopted for various payment and value transfer purposes. However, it's important to note that Litecoin's network has fewer miners compared to Bitcoin, which may influence its overall security infrastructure. This aspect of the network's composition is a key consideration when evaluating the robustness and reliability of Litecoin in comparison to Bitcoin.

Like Bitcoin, Litecoin has a fixed supply: there will only ever be 84 million LTC.

Specialized computers known as 'mining rigs' perform the equations required to verify and record a new Litecoin transaction. In the early days, a typical desktop PC was powerful enough to participate, allowing pretty much anyone curious to try their hand at mining. These days, the computers required are massive, specialized, and often owned by businesses or large numbers of individuals pooling their resources.

You can buy Litecoin through several crypto exchanges, including Coinbase.