Ethereum vs Litecoin – Which Cryptocurrency is Better?

If you are a crypto enthusiast, you might be wondering which cryptocurrency would be the best to invest in. In the case of the top 10 cryptocurrencies for 2019, people often get confused about the pros and cons and which currency outweighs which.

One such common source of confusion is which amongst Litecoin and Ethereum is better.

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What is Litecoin?

Litecoin, which essentially is a forked version of Bitcoin was created in 2011 and began with the Bitcoin codebase. Litecoin, however, has a few unique traits of its own.

It has a finite supply of 84 million coins compared to Bitcoin’s 21 million.

The cryptocurrency can also be mined up to four times faster than Bitcoin. Litecoin often targets smaller transactions. Litecoin uses SegWit (Segregated Witness) and can support smart contracts. However, much of the active development for smart contracts is centered on Ethereum.

Litecoin’s endurance may speak to its future longevity.

The fact that Litecoin has survived this long (since October 2011) and that it is one of the few currencies available on the highly-selective Coinbase exchange could indicate a better future than other altcoins.

However, there is an ongoing debate about incorporating SegWit into Bitcoin as well, and if in case that happens, it would be a major loss of advantage for Litecoins.

Like many cryptocurrencies, Litecoin enjoyed a massive runup in price at the end of 2017 and into early 2018. Prices have fallen since that time but remain substantially higher than the early 2017 levels.

You May Also Read: Are Bitcoin and Litecoin Same?

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum, the brainchild of Canadian programmer and Bitcoin enthusiast Vitalik Buterin, was launched when in 2013, he released a white paper about Ethereum

The white paper detailed the potential uses of an alternative blockchain technology that could work as both a decentralized platform for developers to build applications as well as a financial instrument.

Ethereum gradually gained momentum as more and more developers joined its ranks and become a growing community of high-tech enthusiasts.

Ethereum was a live cryptocurrency by the end of 2015 and since its beginnings just a few years ago, Ethereum has become the once second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

While Bitcoin was built as a cryptocurrency platform Ethereum is a decentralized application platform — one that also hosts a cryptocurrency, ‘Ether’ which serves as a fuel for the network. Though the difference may sound like an issue of mere semantics, the distinction is a major reason why Ethereum has had such a large scale adoption in such a short span of time.

Ethereum’s smart contracts are codes that survive on the blockchain and can enable monetary exchanges, or transfer content, property, shares, or other items of value based on a bunch of rules as is built into each contract.

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Similarities between LTC and ETH

Both Litecoin and Ethereum are traded on Coinbase. They even feature in GDAX, the company’s exchange for advance traders.

Litecoin and Ethereum both provide faster transactions than Bitcoin, but they use different approaches to speed those transactions. Regardless of the technical details, a faster transaction time helps a currency to be viable.

Differences between LTH and ETH

Litecoin is primarily viewed as a currency — which was a fork of Bitcoin.

Though both Litecoin and Ethereum were inspired by Bitcoin, they have taken very different directions in development. Litecoin is a faster and cheaper version of Bitcoin and Ethereum and attracts the attention of developers who see more applications for the platform.

Ethereum rising from it’s white-paper obscurity, from just the of a young coder, to the thirds largest cryptocurrency, in the world, is an impressive feat and speaks to the enthusiasm the community has for Ethereum and its long-term applications.

With the ability to host applications, store data, transfer value, and communicate — all on the blockchain — it’s not surprising that Ethereum has captured the imagination of investors and developers alike.

Conclusion

The technology behind it all is volatile, as is the pricing. However, objectively speaking, For now, Ethereum seems likely to be the best store of value now.

Not only does it have a much higher and growing interest from the wider cryptocurrency community, despite its younger age, but its growing name recognition and availability also continues to drive it forward, making it easier for any kind of transaction.

Ethereum is likely to disappear only if cryptocurrencies, as a whole, disappeared.

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Rishma Banerjee

Rishma is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and has a special place in her life for sifting through all sorts of random trivia, thank you very much.