Litecoin (LTC) is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies still in active use. It was created by Charlie Lee, a former Google software engineer, who released it in October 2011 as a direct fork of Bitcoin’s codebase — meaning it started as a modified copy of Bitcoin’s software rather than an entirely new design. Lee has described the goal as building a “lighter” complement to Bitcoin, sometimes summarized with the shorthand “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.” You can follow Litecoin’s live market data on our Litecoin page.
What Litecoin actually changed from Bitcoin
Because Litecoin began as a fork of Bitcoin, the two share the same basic architecture: a blockchain secured by proof of work mining, with new coins issued as a block reward that periodically halves. Litecoin’s main differences are tuned parameters rather than a fundamentally different design:
- Faster blocks. Litecoin targets a new block roughly every 2.5 minutes, compared with Bitcoin’s roughly 10 minutes, aiming for quicker transaction confirmations.
- A different mining algorithm. Litecoin uses an algorithm called Scrypt instead of Bitcoin’s SHA-256, a choice originally intended to make mining more accessible to ordinary computer hardware rather than specialized equipment (though, as with Bitcoin, specialized mining hardware has since become dominant on the Litecoin network too).
- A larger maximum supply. Litecoin’s hard-coded supply cap is 84 million coins, four times Bitcoin’s 21 million, in keeping with its faster block time and larger reward structure.
Litecoin’s halving schedule
Like Bitcoin, Litecoin cuts its mining reward in half at a fixed interval — every 840,000 blocks, which works out to roughly four years given Litecoin’s faster block time. Litecoin has gone through several of these halvings since its 2011 launch, each one reducing the pace at which new LTC enters circulation. You can track how the current circulating and maximum supply compare on our Litecoin market page.
What Litecoin is generally used for
Litecoin has long positioned itself primarily as a payments-focused coin: faster confirmations and lower typical fees than Bitcoin, aimed at day-to-day transfers rather than being marketed mainly as a long-term store of value. In practice, it is also held and traded speculatively like most other cryptocurrencies, and its price tends to move in the same broad direction as the wider crypto market, particularly Bitcoin, more often than it moves independently.
Being one of the oldest cryptocurrencies is not the same as being immune to the market’s usual risks. Litecoin has weathered more than a decade of crypto market cycles, but longevity reflects survival, not a guarantee about future performance in either direction.
How Litecoin compares with Bitcoin day to day
The table below summarizes the main structural differences. None of these figures are financial metrics like price or market capitalization — for those, see the live figures on our Litecoin market page, which update continuously rather than going stale the way a number printed in an article would.
| Feature | Bitcoin | Litecoin |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | 2009 | 2011 |
| Target block time | ~10 minutes | ~2.5 minutes |
| Mining algorithm | SHA-256 | Scrypt |
| Maximum supply | 21 million | 84 million |
For a broader look at how Bitcoin itself works, see our guide on what Bitcoin is, and for how Litecoin fits alongside the thousands of other non-Bitcoin coins, see our guide on what an altcoin is.
A testing ground for Bitcoin’s own upgrades
Because Litecoin shares Bitcoin’s basic codebase but moves as an independent project, it has occasionally served as an early testing ground for changes later adopted more broadly across the Bitcoin ecosystem. Litecoin activated a technical upgrade called Segregated Witness (SegWit) in May 2017, ahead of Bitcoin’s own activation later that year, and it was also involved in some of the earliest publicly demonstrated cross-chain atomic swaps — direct, trustless trades between two different blockchains without routing through an exchange. These milestones are a matter of public record rather than a claim Coingsty is making on Litecoin’s behalf, and they are part of why Litecoin is often cited in discussions of Bitcoin-adjacent protocol development, even though its market size has generally remained well behind Bitcoin’s.
Getting started with Litecoin
Buying Litecoin generally follows the same process as buying most established cryptocurrencies: choosing a reputable exchange, completing identity verification where required, funding an account, and either holding the coin on the exchange or withdrawing it to a wallet you control. Our guide on how to buy Bitcoin walks through that process in detail, and most of the same steps apply when buying Litecoin or other established coins on the same platform.
Custody and using Litecoin
Litecoin is supported by most major exchanges and by wallets that handle multiple cryptocurrencies, since it shares much of Bitcoin’s underlying transaction logic. The same custody principles apply as with any other cryptocurrency: if you hold LTC in a self-custody wallet, you alone are responsible for securing the private key or seed phrase. Our guides on crypto wallets and storing crypto safely cover the practical options in more depth.
Risks specific to Litecoin
- Correlation, not independence. Litecoin’s price generally tracks the broader crypto market rather than moving on its own separate cycle, which limits its diversification benefit within a crypto-only portfolio.
- Narrower use case. Litecoin does not support the kind of complex smart-contract applications that platforms like Ethereum do, so its utility is more concentrated in payments and speculation.
- General crypto risks. Volatility, custody risk, and regulatory uncertainty all apply to Litecoin just as they do to any other cryptocurrency.
Where Litecoin fits in a wider portfolio view
Because Litecoin’s price tends to move in the same broad direction as Bitcoin and the wider crypto market, holding both does not necessarily provide the same diversification benefit that holding two unrelated traditional assets might. That does not make either asset better or worse — it simply means the two should not automatically be treated as offsetting risks. As with any allocation decision, it comes down to your own goals, time horizon, and how much volatility you can tolerate, and it is worth researching a project on its own merits rather than assuming a longer track record substitutes for that research.
This guide is educational and is not financial advice. Cryptocurrency prices are volatile and you should never risk money you cannot afford to lose. Always do your own research before acting.
Frequently asked questions
Is Litecoin the same technology as Bitcoin?
Closely related -- Litecoin began as a fork of Bitcoin's code and shares the same proof-of-work design, with tuned parameters like block time, mining algorithm, and supply.
Why does Litecoin have a bigger supply than Bitcoin?
Its 84 million cap was set at four times Bitcoin's 21 million, roughly matching its four-times-faster block time. A larger supply does not by itself make coins more or less valuable.
Is Litecoin still actively developed?
Yes, it has an active open-source development community and has received protocol updates since its 2011 launch. Check current activity yourself rather than assuming.
Does Litecoin support smart contracts like Ethereum?
No, not natively. Litecoin focuses on transferring value, similar to Bitcoin, rather than hosting programmable smart-contract applications.