Litecoin has been in the list of top-10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation pretty much since it began trading in the spring of 2013. Created by Charlie Lee u2013 then a Google software engineer u2013 it set out to improve upon the original crypto, Bitcoin. n
By tweaking Bitcoinu2019s open-source code, Mr. Lee was able to launch Litecoin, a crypto that was much like its big brother but lighter in computational power u2013 which is why it has its name u2013 and much speedier in terms of transactions. n
Mr. Leeu2019s Twitter handle is @SatoshiLite u2013 an obvious reference to Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious Bitcoin founder, or founders u2013 and on the micro-blogging site he expressed his concerns. u201cBitcoin is a great store of value,u201d he wrote.
u201cIu2019m fine spending ~$1 fee per transaction, but I canu2019t stand waiting 40+ minutes for a confirmation!u201d n
He went on to be appointed the director of engineering at Coinbase, an online platform for buying, selling, and storing digital currency.
In that position, he promoted Bitcoin and helped the crypto gain acceptance from a number of global organisations, such as Tesla, Wikipedia, Virgin Galactic, and a raft of others. n
Mr. Lee was aware that Litecoinu2019s success in the market would be linked to Bitcoinu2019s popularity, as it is a derivative of the founding crypto. Some in the community call Bitcoin u201cgold 2.
0u201d, which feasibly makes Litecoin u201cdigital silveru201d. The infrastructure of Litecoin is much like Bitcoinu2019s, yet it has near-zero transaction fees, and it is considerably quicker to actually make a transaction.
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It didnu2019t take Litecoin long to achieve a market capitalisation of $1 billion, soon after it was launched in April 2013. Four years later Mr.
Lee established the Litecoin Foundation. It was a clever evolution, as he hired a development team, meaning protocol changes for new functions and scalability were possible without requiring disruptive hard forks. n
Litecoin is appealing to investors who are happy to hold, as it has the potential to grow in value considerably in the coming years, many analysts believe. Since it added u201cSegregated Witnessu201d (SegWit), the process by which the block size limit on a blockchain is increased by removing signature data from Bitcoin transactions, it has become even more attractive.
Additionally, it will soon join the Lightning Network u2013 a system that allows transacting and settling, off-blockchain u2013 making it u201cfuture readyu201d in the eyes of Mr. Lee and many others. n
The crypto peaked in value at $341 on December 18, 2017 according to global trading and investment platform eToro . u201cLitecoinu2019s long-term trend indicates future price might climb up to over $5,000,u201d believes Michael Serrano, an analyst at Wiki Crypto.
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eToro , which specialises in cryptocurrency trading and has an online community of over eight million people, has produced a short educational video about Litecoin to help prospective investors: n
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After all, the motto at eToro, which offers a raft of other top cryptos to trade or buy outright, is: u201cCryptos Neednu2019t Be Cryptic.u201d n
Pros and cons of trading on eToro n
Pros n n Straightforward, user-friendly, trustworthy and experienced platform n Instant execution of trades, thereby locking in a price n Ability to use CopyTrader and other innovative tools n Huge cryptocurrency community that shares knowledge and helps each other n Fast execution n Regulated company n n
Cons n n Only 10 cryptocurrencies offered by the platform, currently n Users are unable to withdraw the cryptocurrencies directly n Usersu2019 cryptocurrencies are held by eToro n n
Trading Litecoin is straightforward on eToro n
Step 1: Go to www.etoro.com and press u2018Join Nowu2019 to register n
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Step 2: Once you have signed up, search for u2018Litecoinu2019 n
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Step 3: Click on u2018Litecoinu2019 and press u2018Tradeu2019 n
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Step 4: Choose either the amount or units to trade (by toggling the icon on the right-hand side) and press u2018Deposit Nowu2019 to open a trade n
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Want to learn more about trading Litecoin and other cryptos? Visit www.eToro.com now, and join the online global community. n
Cryptocurrencies can widely fluctuate in prices and are not appropriate for all investors. Trading cryptocurrencies is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework.
Your capital is at risk. n
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