Litecoin (LTC) is a decentralized, open-source cryptocurrency that was created in October 2011 by former Google engineer Charlie Lee. Designed as a “lighter” version of Bitcoin, Litecoin aims to provide fast, low-cost, and secure peer-to-peer transactions on a global scale. It was one of the first altcoins and remains one of the oldest and most established cryptocurrencies still in active use today.
Sometimes referred to as “digital silver” to Bitcoin’s “digital gold,” Litecoin maintains many of Bitcoin’s core features such as a fixed supply and decentralized mining, while offering faster block generation times and a different hashing algorithm. LTC can be bought on specialized exchanges and LTC can also be traded for using other cryptocurrencies.