Litecoin

If you want to buy Litecoin, you can do so easily on Knaken, using iDEAL or another payment method. Whether you would like to use Litecoin to pay online, send it to a friend, or store it in your Litecoin wallet as an investment, Knaken provides an easy process for doing so.

What Is Litecoin?

Litecoin (LTC) is a cryptocurrency that is over a decade old. Launched in 2011, Litecoin was supposed to be an alternative to Bitcoin. As such, it falls into the category of “altcoins,” although it is one of the oldest, most established, safest, and most well-known altcoins.

 

What Makes Litecoin Different From Bitcoin?

 

Litecoin (or Lite coin) came to solve many of the problems that Bitcoin has as a form of decentralized peer-to-peer payment. Like Bitcoin, Litecoin uses a public blockchain to maintain decentralization and ensure the security of the network. All transactions are registered on this public blockchain.

Also, like Bitcoin, Litecoin uses rewards to incentivize miners to “mine” Litecoin and confirm blocks of transactions on the public blockchain. However, Litecoin uses the Scrypt proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm instead of Bitcoin’s SHA-256 proof-of-work algorithm.

Litecoin is often referred to as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.” Bitcoin is sometimes considered the “gold” of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin was the first major successful decentralized digital currency, and it’s still considered the gold standard in cryptocurrency, especially for investing.

On the other hand, Bitcoin does have some issues. For example, it takes quite a long time for transactions to be confirmed on the Bitcoin blockchain. The average time to confirm a transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain is a whopping 10 minutes!

If you think about it, if Bitcoin were to replace Visa and Mastercard as the standard payment system, it wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand with such a slow transaction confirmation time.

 

Bitcoin also uses a lot of energy. Miners use a lot of computing power for proof-of-work, leading to energy consumption concerns. Also, Bitcoin is pretty expensive, with a single Bitcoin costing tens of thousands of dollars. While you can purchase a fraction of a Bitcoin, some people want the security of knowing they own at least a full single coin.

Here are some ways Litecoin is different from Bitcoin.

 

Transactions Are Much Quicker

The average transaction confirmation time on Litecoin is just 2.5 minutes. Of course, that does vary based on network congestion and other factors.

However, that makes Litecoin 4x faster than Bitcoin, on average. It means you can send Litecoin to a friend, and they will have it within minutes, instead of worrying that it might take 1-2 hours, as often happens with Bitcoin transactions.

Transaction Fees Are Much Lower

The average Litecoin transaction fee is around $0.02. Yep, you read that right – two cents. The average daily Bitcoin transaction fee, however, didn’t drop below $1.78 in 2021, and the highest daily average was $62. Frequently, you can expect to pay more than $10 for simple transactions on Bitcoin.

It Uses Less Energy

The Scrypt proof-of-work algorithm requires less energy than Bitcoin’s algorithm. If you are wary of using Bitcoin due to the high-energy consumption associated with the mining process, consider Litecoin as an alternative.

 

It’s Cheaper

The price of Litecoin fluctuates, but it usually stays below $250 for a Litecoin, often dropping close to $100 for one LTC. That makes it a lot easier for the average small-time investor to purchase a full Litecoin – or even several LTC. It also means there is the potential for a big price increase in the future.

It Has a Larger Supply

The maximum supply of Bitcoin, as is well known, is 21 million. On the other hand, Litecoin has a larger maximum supply of 84 million. That means that more Litecoin is available for everyone.

 

Is Litecoin Better Than Bitcoin?

It’s important to stress that while Litecoin aims to fix several of Bitcoin’s issues, that doesn’t mean it’s a competing currency. On the contrary, Litecoin can be used to supplement your Bitcoin investment strategy.

For example, you can use Bitcoin as a store of value and Litecoin for everyday payments. Alternatively, you can use both as stores of value or for everyday transactions. The choice is yours – both coins have their pros and cons. For example, Bitcoin remains more popular than Litecoin, and many more people know about it.

Should You Buy Litecoin? Is It a Good Investment?

Both Bitcoin and Litecoin are worthy investments. Bitcoin remains the gold standard in cryptocurrency, but there’s no denying that it’s plagued with issues that make it more optimal as a store of value rather than a daily currency to use for purchasing products or paying people.

At the same time, the popularity of Litecoin has waned since it came out over a decade ago. At first, it was one of the few worthy alternatives to Bitcoin that fixed the issues Bitcoin has. Now, however, many other altcoins have come into the picture, picked up steam, and gained popularity. Some of them have become more popular than Litecoin.

Nevertheless, Litecoin remains one of the most established and stable altcoins. Unlike some altcoins, it has a clear use case. It also hasn’t seen some of the extreme price fluctuations that some altcoins have experienced, although the price does go up and down often.

Can You Use Litecoin to Pay Online?

More merchants accept Bitcoin than Litecoin. However, there are still many merchants and eCommerce stores that allow you to pay with Litecoin.

 

One of the benefits of using Litecoin to pay online is that transactions are processed quickly. Many merchants thus prefer Litecoin to Bitcoin. As a consumer, you also pay fewer fees when making Litecoin transactions.

That’s why many people are opting to use Litecoin for peer-to-peer payments. Litecoin provides an easy way to send payments to friends and sellers anonymously. While transactions are public on the blockchain, there is no way for anyone to verify the identity of any wallet owner. That’s undoubtedly the way it is with Bitcoin as well.

Buy Litecoin With iDEAL

Using Knaken, you can purchase LTC with iDEAL. The iDEAL system is a popular payment system in The Netherlands. It allows you to purchase Litecoin online using direct transfers from your bank account without the need to use a credit card. It’s a fast and easy system you probably used to purchase items online, and now you can use it to buy Litecoin.

 

It’s not just Litecoin you can buy with iDEAL, however. You may also purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, and a wide range of other cryptocurrencies. It’s possible to acquire multiple cryptocurrencies and send them to your private wallet.

 

You can also sell your Litecoin on Knaken. Once you do that, you can transfer the money from the sale right back to your bank account. Alternatively, if you have other cryptocurrencies you would like to trade for Litecoin, you can sell them and buy Litecoin.

Once you purchase Litecoin with iDEAL, it will remain safe and secure in your private wallet. Keep your wallet address and keys safe, and keep a backup of your wallet seed phrase in a place nobody can access. That way, if you lose access to your digital wallet, you can restore it from another device.

 

You can store your Litecoin in your wallet, never touching it, or you can use it for daily payments. The choice is yours.