Litecoin vs. Ethereum: What’s the Difference?
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In this article, you will finally figure out the main peculiarities of Litecoin and Ethereum and which of them you should buy.
Litecoin vs. Ethereum: What’s the Difference?
There are approximately 4.000 different cryptocurrencies available right now. As a crypto trader, you may ask yourself questions like “What cryptocurrency should I buy or invest in?”
Litecoin and Ethereum are similar but very different at the same time. Study their main differences here and choose the best one for your needs.
Litecoin: Pros and Cons
Litecoin (LTC) is one of the popular cryptocurrencies these days. Utilizing much of the same code as Bitcoin’s blockchain, Litecoin is called “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.” LTC is a lot cheaper than its big all-famous brother. That is why it is quite in demand among starter miners. You can buy it easily or exchange litecoin LTC to Ethereum ETH, as the latter also has a lot of potential.
In the table below, you can see the most important advantages and drawbacks of Litecoin.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to buy | Usually used for short-term investments (daily payments, etc.) |
| Protected from hyperinflation | A limited amount of coins available |
| Faster transactions than Bitcoin’s | High volatility |
Only 84 mln coins of LTC can circulate on the market, and no more. In October 2020, litecoinpool.org mined the 66 millionth coin of this cryptocurrency. Why create such a supply cap? The creator of Litecoin, Charlie Lee, explains that this helps to protect LTC from potential hyperinflation and, as the result, depreciation. What does it mean for you, a person who intends to invest his/her money in this cryptocurrency? If an economic crisis occurs, your capital won’t lose its value. Not like other cryptos or national currencies.
The Uniqueness of Ethereum
Every cryptocurrency has its own features or unique elements. Ethereum is no exception. It is not only a currency but a big independent ecosystem. To be precise, Ethereum is actually the name of a system, while ETH is the name of a cryptocurrency. But today, it became popular so that the two names can be used interchangeably.
When you make a transaction with ETH, you pay a fee. However, no matter what cryptocurrency you use, you pay some fees most of the time. According to the official website of Ethereum, it has built a booming digital economy. Thus, Ethereum does three important things:
- Makes all transactions secured;
- Miners get rewarded for their activity;
- No third parties involved.
A win-win situation for both sides, right?
Since we talk about this cryptocurrency, we should also mention its pros and cons. The table below represents the main advantages and disadvantages.
| Pros | Cons |
| Own independent network | Inflation can affect its cost |
| No need for third parties | High transaction fee |
One of the main disadvantages of Ethereum is the possibility of crypto inflation. This cryptocurrency has no limits. The only one for it is that only 18 million ETH are available per year. The next year, 18 million more will become available. This endless cycle leads to inflation that can affect this cryptocurrency. So, if you decide to invest in it, you will need to monitor the market not to lose the invested capital.
Main Differences Between LTC and ETH
Now it is time to define the main differences between these two cryptocurrencies:
- Number of coins available (84 million of LTC against 18 million of ETH per year);
- The size of a transaction fee ($0.04 against $0.85 per transaction in January 2021);
- The time required for a transaction (2.2 minutes against 15 seconds);
- LTC is protected from inflation.
These are the major factors you should know about. Which one to invest in is entirely up to you. But be sure, no matter what you decide to buy, you can always exchange it for another cryptocurrency.
I am Campurro, one of the founders of MonetaVerde Coin.