Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that was founded in 2011, two years after bitcoin, by a former Google engineer named Charlie Lee. Measured by market capitalization, Litecoin is the ninth-largest cryptocurrency. Initially, it was a strong competitor to Bitcoin. However, as the cryptocurrency market has become more saturated in recent years with new offerings, Litecoin’s popularity has waned. Litecoin has always been viewed as a reaction to bitcoin.
In fact, when Lee announced the debut of Litecoin on a popular bitcoin forum, he called it the “lite version of Bitcoin”. For this reason, Litecoin has many of the same features as bitcoin, while also adapting and changing some other aspects that the development team felt could be improved.
Litecoin, like all virtual currencies, is a form of digital money. Both individuals and institutions can use Litecoin to purchase things and to transfer funds between accounts. Participants can make transactions with Litecoin without the use of an intermediary like a bank, credit card company, or payment processing service.