What is Litecoin (LTC)?
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer (P2P) digital currency that is based on a fork of the Bitcoin protocol. It was founded by former Google employee, Charlie Lee in 2011. Originally touted as the “lite version of Bitcoin”, Litecoin differentiates itself from Bitcoin in a number of ways, including faster block generation, a different hashing algorithm, and a larger supply cap of 84 million coins.
The Litecoin blockchain can handle higher transaction volume than Bitcoin as well. The first Lightning Network transaction took place with Litecoin, and also Litecoin was the first major cryptocurrency to adopt SegWit, a protocol upgrade that increased block size limit. Litecoin also allows for Atomic swaps, a cross-chain exchange of coins without the need of a third party. Litecoin uses the same Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism as Bitcoin, relying on miners to verify transactions, however, miners receive a larger block reward than Bitcoin. Litecoin has often been referred to as “ the silver to Bitcoin’s gold.” Litecoin has been one of the biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap for years now.
To Buy Litecoin in New Zealand with Swyftx, create a free account and start trading.
How to buy Litecoin in New Zealand?
The easiest way to buy Litecoin in New Zealand is to sign up to a registered crypto exchange like Swyftx. Swyftx is a feature-rich platform with low fees and personalised customer service. To buy Litecoin, start by creating your free trading account with Swyftx. To do this, you’ll need to provide a few simple details like your full name, email address and phone number as well as creating a secure password. The next step is to submit a piece of government-issued photo identification to verify your account. Verification typically takes no longer than 3 minutes to complete. Once verified, you can deposit NZD into your account via bank transfer. Once you have funds in your account, you can buy Litecoin (LTC) and other assets listed on the Swyftx exchange.
Litecoin (LTC) vs Bitcoin (BTC)
There are a number of similarities between Bitcoin and Litecoin. They are both decentralised cryptocurrencies which mean they do not rely on a third-party intermediary such as a bank. Bitcoin originated in 2009 and remains as the largest cryptocurrency in the world. Litecoin, which was founded 2 years later, is one of Bitcoin’s main competitors. The key difference between LTC and BTC is that Litecoin can produce a greater number of coins and its transaction speed is a lot quicker. Additionally, both cryptocurrencies use different cryptographic algorithms. Litecoin uses an algorithm called Scrypt, whereas Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 algorithm.
