Introduction
Litecoin is one of the earliest alternative cryptocurrencies. Since its inception in 2011 as a fork of Bitcoin, Litecoin has been keeping a firm place in the top 20 of cryptocurrencies. At present, Litecoin is ranked #14 in terms of market capitalization, which is above $12 bln.
Our article tells you about how to store Litecoin in a safe and convenient way.
What is Litecoin
While Bitcoin is deemed as ‘virtual gold’, Litecoin holds the title of “virtual silver”.
The concept of Litecoin was to make it a “lite version of Bitcoin”, as per the idea of Charlie Lee, who designed it. Lee is a former employee of Google and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
As compared to Bitcoin, Litecoin produces a faster transaction throughput and does so at a low cost, which is near to zero. The Litecoin network is known for producing new blocks faster than Bitcoin. Built on the same protocol as Bitcoin, Litecoin applies a different and newer hashing algorithm called Scrypt. This algorithm was chosen by the development team to avoid the prevalence of ASIC-based miners. Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency.
Litecoin is based on the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism. There is no central authority that would govern the network. The Litecoin blockchain is highly secured to avoid attacks, including a 51% attack. Just like Bitcoins, Litecoins can be mined with the mining process being far quicker than that involving Bitcoins.
The total supply of Litecoin almost quadrupled that of Bitcoin and makes 84 mln coins. Another difference is the time required to halve the Litecoin reward, which happens every 840,000 blocks. For comparison, the Bitcoin reward halves every 210,000 blocks. Of course, both networks famously remain open-source.
Thanks to its liquidity, reliability, speed of transactions, and high volumes produced by Litecoin, it is widely used by merchants and individuals as the means of payment used to transfer between individuals or pay for goods. Participants of transactions can pay with Litecoins without any third parties, such as a bank or intermediary.
Also, it’s noteworthy that Litecoin was the first blockchain that integrated the SegWit (Segregated Witness) layer. Thanks to the capacity of SegWit, more transactions can be added to the chain. Thanks to testing SegWit by Litecoin, its further effective adoption by Bitcoin became possible. Litecoin has also worked as a testing ground for another layer, the Lightning Network. This network facilitates instant payments.
At present, Litecoin is developing the MimbleWimble privacy protocol, that is able to make details of a transaction private.
How to store Litecoin in Freewallet
Freewallet is a safe and comfortable platform for several hundreds of cryptocurrencies. As one of the major cryptocurrencies, Litecoin has a single-currency application developed by Freewallet. It serves both iOS and Android OS. Thanks to the Freewallet development, one can enjoy fast Litecoin transactions, as well as store Litecoin safely. The wallet is free, you won’t be charged any fee for installation. Freewallet charges fees for transactions but an off-chain payment (made by user ID or email address between Freewallet users) is fee-free.
What’s better – a mono LTC coin or the Mult-coin app from Freewallet?
The answer depends on your goals. If you are a Litecoin miner and use our app only to store Litecoins, a single-currency Litecoin app will be your best choice. If you are a cryptocurrency aficionado and would like to explore all options that an app holds for you, download our Crypto Wallet.
After you download an app, enter it with one of the four login options: phone number, Facebook, Google, or email address. If you lose access to your Freewallet account, our customer service will always assist you in the recovery process. No need to memorize a seed phrase or store private key information!
Litecoin Functionality in Freewallet
Buying Litecoins with a bank card
Great news for all fans of Litecoin considering the purchase of blockchain silver! You can buy this coin in Freewallet via two providers available in “Buy with a card” section of the app.
How to buy Litecoin with Freewallet?
– Click “Buy with a card” option
– Choose MoonPay or Simplex
– Pick up LTC on the list of suggested currencies
– Input the desired amount of coins
– Check all the details and accept the terms
– Press “Buy LTC” button
Major credit cards are supported, including MasterCard and Visa. More than that: the purchase with fiat currency is not limited to two of them. With Freewallet, you enjoy a diverse range of currencies that you can buy your crypto with: EUR, USD, GBP, CNY, MYR, JPY, RUB, KRW, TWD, NZD, PLN, and many others! Some countries or regions have restrictions on the purchase of digital coins. The more detailed guides on buying crypto with Freewallet can be found in our Frequently Asked Questions.
How can I send and receive Litecoin in Freewallet?
To receive your LTC coins, please get a free LTC address. To do so, enter the app, press “Receive” and you’ll see your destination address. Save and paste it when sending coins from outside Freewallet.
To send your LTC coins out of Freewallet, enter the app and click the “Send” button. Then fill in the amount and receiving address. Confirm your payment details and receive your coins. By the way, sending coins to the SegWit LTC addresses is also available in Freewallet (these addresses start with ‘M’).
Can I exchange Litecoin for Bitcoin, using Freewallet?
Of course, Freewallet provides you with an opportunity to convert Litecoins to Bitcoins, and vice versa. On top of that, you can convert Litecoin to a great variety of coins and ERC-20 tokens. For the best experience, check out the desktop version of the wallet and pick up the “Exchange” button. Then, select the currency of your exchange and the currency you would like to get. and See an estimated amount of the final transaction and confirm details. Your exchange will be completed in a matter of seconds!
How can I check the Litecoin price stats in your app?
The price stats for all available cryptos is displayed by the app within 3 time frames: daily, weekly and monthly. You can set this value as being reflected in 15 national currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, CNY, CAD, RUB, HKD, JPY, AUD, BRL, CHF, IDR, INR, KRW, MXN. Please choose ‘Settings’ – “Account” – “Language” to choose the currency appropriate for you.
Is it possible to send Litecoin to a Bitcoin address?
If you would like to send LTC to a BTC address, we recommend you to proceed with “Exchange”. Otherwise, you risk sending your coins to the wrong address. Due to the similarity of blockchains and their wallet addresses, this is a popular error made by the use of crypto financial services. However, Freewallet will be able to help you recover this kind of transaction.
Buy gifts for your loved ones with Litecoin in Freewallet
If you have Litecoins on your balance and holidays are coming, here is a great tip for you.
Freewallet is your gateway to several hundred global brands: eBay, Google Play, Hooters, iTunes, Uber Eats, Domino’s, eBay, Nike, Arcadia, Decathlon, Foot Locker, Global Hotel Card, Inspire Travel, Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, Primark, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Target, The Body Shop, Ticketmaster, Topman, Topshop, TripGift, Virgin Megastore, Uber, Ray-Ban, Walmart, and Zalando, iTunes, Amazon, and many more of them! Open our app, enter the catalog of gift cards and browse it. This purchase takes a couple of clicks with the gift being delivered to your email address right after. Both online and physical stores offer their cards whose value starts with several US dollars.
Which goods can you buy for Litecoin with Freewallet?
The categories include but are not limited to Women’s Fashion, Department Stores, Food & Drink, Toys & Games, Leisure & Sports. You can filter cards by popularity, country, or alphabet order.