Did you know, that Litecoin, from it's structure, is nearly identical to Bitcoin? That's right - Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin, simply copied the Bitcoin code, modified and tweaked it to his liking and shared his creation on Bitcointalk.org forums. A little digging around reveals this post on October 9th, 2011.
So what are the things he changed in Litecoin? Let's head on to wikipedia for a quick reference. Only 2 bullet points? Litecoin is practically Bitcoin.
As you can see, not much, besides faster block generation - 2.5 minutes versus the 10-minute timespan for Bitcoin. According to the devs, this feature allows transactions on LTC network be confirmed faster than on the Bitcoin network. A higher number of coins and a some changes to hashing algorithm. Let's leave the full tecnical mumbo-jumbo out.
And the development of new features for Litecoin has never been hard either. Litecoin dev team would just have to wait, until the Bitcoin devs implement new features and they could take these changes and implement them on Litecoin too.
As time passes, new enhancements appear and this time, the Segwit update, that allows for cheaper and faster transactions, was implemented on Litecoin network before Bitcoin. This was part of the idea behind Lee's thought process - that Litecoin could be a testing ground for features, that will be implemented into Bitcoin eventually. He wrote about how he would like Litecoin to come out of its comatose state and start leading Bitcoin, on segwit.org, on January 2017.
Via segwit.org
So Lee and Litecoin are not piggybackers. Charlie Lee and Litecoin have given their contribution to the blockchain tech. And now, Charlie Lee is out with another potential solution for a better and more accurate transaction fee estimation on the Litecoin and Bitcoin networks.
At the current state - you can easily leave your transaction in a limbo on the blockchain if you estimate your fee wroong and set the transaction with a fee, that is too low. Sure, it might go through or bounce back eventually, but that could take days, if not longer.
And who wants to overpay? Why pay more than the other guys paid? This is the worst part. You are sending a minuscule amount of BTC, yet you pay an enourmous amount of tx fees for the payment to reach its destination.
So Lee's suggestion is that miners broadcast the lowest fee, that is included in a mined block, in it's header. New upcoming transactions with lower fees than the one in the header won't be included. Since the minimum fee is included and publicly broadcasted, clients will be able to calculate and estimate the needed transaction fee more easily and accurately.
Those who still stubbornly low-ball with their tx fees, will have to wait though.
Follow Charlie Lee on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/SatoshiLite
Earlier Charlie Lee has been heavily criticized on pushing Litecoin to grow the value of his own holdings and when he wanted to clear the air and sold his holdings, he got even more criticism.
Nevertheless, the man has clear goals and wants to help Litecoin to climb past it's previous ATH (all time high).
So stack up on your Litecoin holdings, 2018 is going to be a good year for LTC.
Also, my mate @forexbrokr posed a question i should have covered in this post - will the implementation on Lightning Networks make BTC and LTC payments equal? I have no idea before this gets implemented, but in one the links below, Lee pondered the same question. Here's what he said:
Via segwit.org
So it's a waiting game, for now.
Sources used in this publication:
Charlie Lee Wants to Test a New Solution for Bitcoin Fee Estimation on Litecoin
My Vision For SegWit And Lightning Networks On Litecoin And Bitcoin
[ANN] Litecoin - a lite version of Bitcoin. Launched!
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Great article. I think LTC is really going to SHOCK a lot of people this year with its MAJOR releases/partnerships/integration/announcements that it IS going to be making (really starting up in the spring... honestly people have no idea...). I truly feel that of the top 10 market cap coins, LTC has by far the most room to move (with NEO following as a somewhat close second). Exciting times ahead!
Litecoin will shoot at $360
Agreed but sadly we may not see that happen until some time in late February or early March, as I feel we are in for a rough ride for the rest of January (not just for LTC but the entire crypto market as a whole).
Coincidence??? Multi-Year Bitcoin Crash Pattern... Like Clockwork BTC Has Crashed 25-35% For 4 Years In A Row Starting 23-24 Days Before Chinese New Year
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@budz82/coincidence-multi-year-bitcoin-crash-pattern-like-clockwork-btc-has-crashed-25-35-for-4-years-in-a-row-23-24-days-before-chinese
Thank you. I have dabbled in Litecoin awhile back, however, as with others (and you noted), became concerned re Lee liquidating his position. Been looking for a new entry point for a allocation.
Very interesting article, my dear friend!
I believe in Litecoin in the long run. I agree with you that in 2018 it will be a good tool for investment.
The end of 2017 stood out for the cryptocurrency quite ambiguous. Most of the cryptocurrency was overheated, including Litecoin.
Its reduction is now a completely normal technical correction. We'll wait and watch him!
As for the benefits of Litecoin to Bitcoin - it's certainly speed and simplicity of transactions. You're absolutely right!
But there is also a very important advantage for me personally! This is what the creator of the Litecoin system is a public person and everyone knows who it is - Charlie Lee!
As always, your expert opinion is important to me! I was just in my article reviewed Bitcoin and Litecoin)
https://steemit.com/trading/@maksym7/trading-ideas-on-monday-btc-and-ltc
Thank you for the article, @furious-one!!!
Resteem from me!
Massive overheating mate and the corrections are just a springboard for higher prices. When? Can't really tell.
i relly like this ltc coin , i would love to know more about it
Would be great if you could buy Steem with LTC. Didn't check the transaction fee (my mistake), but paid more for the transaction than the money sent. @!#$
i like the fast transaction time on litecoin, this is convenient , BTC need to improve on this and find a way to lower the transaction charges
That is the best post in Steemit.. now I vote for you.. nice? :)
Since Cryptocurrencies are the future of trades, its time to figure out which coins to invest more.
So Litecoin is the next big thing in Crypto world? Is that right? If this is the case people must love this coin and let this coin stay on Hold as what you said "So stack up on your Litecoin holdings, 2018 is going to be a good year for LTC."
Here are more details about Litecoin:
Litecoin is a cryptocurrency, which was created in 2011 as a lightweight alternative to Bitcoin; the two key differences between them are: - Litecoin's smaller time intervals between adding new blocks to its Blockchain, which is supposed to decrease transaction times; - Litecoin's mining is governed by the Scrypt algorithm, as opposed to Bitcoin's SHA 256. Source: https://cointelegraph.com/tags/litecoin
Keep up the great job, I found you very interesting because of your quality content. You are one of Steemians who play a big contribution to this community.
Have a great day ahead and enjoy the rest of your day. Oh! By the way I'm hitting the upvote and follow button
That is the best post in Steemit.. now I vote for you.. nice? :)
I think litecoin is a great option to bitcoin. But I think this summer Lightning Network will be ready, and I do not know if then this crypto will be very useful.