$LTC Litecoin (LTC) is a peer-to-peer electronic cryptocurrency and an open-source software project licensed under MIT/X11. It was created by former Google engineer Charlie Lee on November 9, 2011. Litecoin is inspired by Bitcoin (BTC) and technically uses the same implementation principles, with its creation and transfer based on an open-source cryptographic protocol, not managed by any central authority.

Litecoin has the following significant differences compared to Bitcoin:

• The Litecoin network can process a block approximately every 2.5 minutes, providing faster transaction confirmations.

• The Litecoin network is expected to produce 84 million Litecoins, four times the currency issuance of the Bitcoin network.

• Litecoin uses the scrypt encryption algorithm, first proposed by Colin Percival in its proof-of-work algorithm, making it easier to mine Litecoin on regular computers compared to Bitcoin.

The main functions of Litecoin include payment, investment, and value storage. It can be used to pay for goods and services, and an increasing number of legitimate merchants are beginning to accept Litecoin as a payment method. At the same time, Litecoin also has investment value and can be bought and sold on many platforms. Litecoin also features a halving mechanism, which is a scheduled event that reduces the reward for mining Litecoin transactions by half; this event is planned to occur every four years to control the supply of LTC.

Litecoin is known for its fast transaction speed and lower transaction costs. It has been around in the cryptocurrency space for a long time and has consistently been one of the most widely recognized crypto assets. These characteristics make Litecoin a valuable complement to Bitcoin rather than a direct competitor.