<s>
Litecoin	B-Protocol
(	O
Abbreviation	O
:	O
LTC	O
;	O
sign	O
:	O
Ł	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
decentralized	O
peer-to-peer	O
cryptocurrency	O
and	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
project	O
released	O
under	O
the	O
MIT/X11	B-License
license	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
was	O
among	O
the	O
earliest	O
altcoins	O
,	O
starting	O
in	O
October	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
technical	O
details	O
,	O
the	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
main	O
chain	O
shares	O
a	O
slightly	O
modified	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
codebase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
its	O
underlying	O
similarities	O
to	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
has	O
historically	O
been	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
silver	O
to	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
gold.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2022	O
,	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
added	O
optional	O
privacy	O
features	O
via	O
soft	O
fork	O
through	O
the	O
MWEB	O
(	O
MimbleWimble	O
extension	O
block	O
)	O
upgrade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currency	O
codes	O
for	O
representing	O
litecoin	B-Protocol
is	O
LTC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
litecoin	B-Protocol
is	O
divisible	O
to	O
eight	O
decimal	O
places	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Units	O
for	O
smaller	O
amounts	O
of	O
litecoin	B-Protocol
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
lites	O
,	O
or	O
millilitecoin	O
(	O
mŁ	O
)	O
,	O
equal	O
to	O
litecoin	B-Protocol
,	O
</s>
<s>
the	O
litoshi	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
the	O
smallest	O
possible	O
division	O
,	O
and	O
named	O
in	O
homage	O
to	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
smallest	O
denomination	O
the	O
satoshi	O
,	O
representing	O
(	O
one	O
hundred	O
millionth	O
)	O
litecoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2011	O
,	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
mining	O
was	O
largely	O
performed	B-Architecture
by	I-Architecture
GPUs	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
raised	O
concern	O
in	O
some	O
users	O
that	O
mining	O
now	O
had	O
a	O
high	O
barrier	O
to	O
entry	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
resources	O
were	O
becoming	O
obsolete	O
and	O
worthless	O
for	O
mining	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
code	O
from	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
new	O
alternative	O
currency	O
was	O
created	O
called	O
Tenebrix	O
(	O
TBX	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tenebrix	O
replaced	O
the	O
SHA-256	B-Algorithm
rounds	O
in	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
mining	O
algorithm	O
with	O
the	O
scrypt	B-Algorithm
function	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
specifically	O
designed	O
in	O
2009	O
to	O
be	O
expensive	O
to	O
accelerate	B-General_Concept
with	I-General_Concept
FPGA	I-General_Concept
or	I-General_Concept
ASIC	I-General_Concept
chips	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
would	O
allow	O
Tenebrix	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
"	O
GPU-resistant	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
utilize	O
the	O
available	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
resources	O
from	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
miners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tenebrix	O
itself	O
was	O
a	O
successor	O
project	O
to	O
an	O
earlier	O
cryptocurrency	O
which	O
replaced	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
issuance	O
schedule	O
with	O
a	O
constant	O
block	O
reward	O
(	O
thus	O
creating	O
an	O
unlimited	O
money	O
supply	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
address	O
this	O
,	O
Charlie	O
Lee	O
,	O
a	O
Google	B-Application
employee	O
who	O
would	O
later	O
become	O
engineering	O
director	O
at	O
Coinbase	O
,	O
created	O
an	O
alternative	O
version	O
of	O
Tenebrix	O
called	O
Fairbrix	B-Protocol
(	O
FBX	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Litecoin	B-Protocol
inherits	O
the	O
scrypt	B-Algorithm
mining	O
algorithm	O
from	O
Fairbrix	B-Protocol
,	O
but	O
returns	O
to	O
the	O
limited	O
money	O
supply	O
of	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
with	O
other	O
changes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lee	O
released	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
via	O
an	O
open-source	B-Application
client	B-Protocol
on	O
GitHub	B-Application
on	O
October	O
7	O
,	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
network	O
went	O
live	O
on	O
October	O
13	O
,	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Litecoin	B-Protocol
was	O
a	O
source	O
code	O
fork	O
of	O
the	O
Bitcoin	B-Language
Core	I-Language
client	B-Protocol
,	O
originally	O
differing	O
by	O
having	O
a	O
decreased	O
block	O
generation	O
time	O
(	O
2.5	O
minutes	O
)	O
,	O
increased	O
maximum	O
number	O
of	O
coins	O
,	O
different	O
hashing	B-Error_Name
algorithm	I-Error_Name
(	O
scrypt	B-Algorithm
,	O
instead	O
of	O
SHA-256	B-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
faster	O
difficulty	O
retarget	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
slightly	O
modified	O
GUI	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
launch	O
,	O
the	O
early	O
growth	O
of	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
was	O
aided	O
by	O
its	O
increasing	O
exchange	O
availability	O
and	O
liquidity	O
on	O
early	O
exchanges	O
such	O
as	O
BTC-e	O
.	O
During	O
the	O
month	O
of	O
November	O
2013	O
,	O
the	O
aggregate	O
value	O
of	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
experienced	O
massive	O
growth	O
which	O
included	O
a	O
100%	O
leap	O
within	O
24	O
hours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2014	O
,	O
Lee	O
suggested	O
merge	O
mining	O
(	O
auxPOW	O
)	O
Dogecoin	O
with	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
to	O
the	O
Dogecoin	O
community	O
at	O
large	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2014	O
,	O
Dogecoin	O
began	O
merge-mining	O
with	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
,	O
providing	O
increased	O
security	O
for	O
Dogecoin	O
and	O
a	O
permanent	O
block	O
subsidy	O
that	O
previously	O
was	O
not	O
available	O
with	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
mining	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2020	O
,	O
PayPal	O
added	O
the	O
ability	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
purchase	O
a	O
derivative	O
of	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
along	O
with	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
Ethereum	B-Application
and	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
Cash	I-Protocol
which	O
could	O
not	O
be	O
withdrawn	O
or	O
spent	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
its	O
Crypto	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2021	O
,	O
a	O
fake	O
press	O
release	O
was	O
published	O
on	O
GlobeNewswire	O
announcing	O
a	O
partnership	O
between	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
and	O
Walmart	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
caused	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
to	O
increase	O
by	O
around	O
30%	O
,	O
before	O
the	O
press	O
release	O
was	O
revealed	O
as	O
a	O
hoax	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2022	O
,	O
MWEB	O
(	O
Mimblewimble	O
Extension	O
Blocks	O
)	O
upgrade	O
was	O
activated	O
on	O
the	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
network	O
as	O
a	O
soft	O
fork	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
upgrade	O
provides	O
users	O
with	O
the	O
option	O
of	O
sending	O
confidential	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
transactions	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
amount	O
being	O
sent	O
is	O
only	O
known	O
between	O
the	O
sender	O
and	O
receiver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2022	O
,	O
PayPal	O
added	O
the	O
ability	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
transfer	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
along	O
with	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
Ethereum	B-Application
and	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
Cash	I-Protocol
between	O
PayPal	O
to	O
other	O
wallets	O
and	O
exchanges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Litecoin	B-Protocol
is	O
different	O
in	O
some	O
ways	O
from	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
targeted	O
block	O
time	O
is	O
every	O
2.5	O
minutes	O
for	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
10	O
minutes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
to	O
confirm	O
transactions	O
four	O
times	O
faster	O
than	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scrypt	B-Algorithm
,	O
an	O
alternative	O
proof-of-work	O
algorithm	O
,	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
differs	O
from	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
SHA-256	B-Algorithm
algorithm	O
in	O
part	O
by	O
including	O
a	O
sequential	O
memory-hard	O
function	O
,	O
requiring	O
asymptotically	O
more	O
memory	O
than	O
an	O
algorithm	O
which	O
is	O
not	O
memory-hard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
's	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
scrypt	B-Algorithm
algorithm	O
,	O
FPGA	B-Architecture
and	O
ASIC	O
devices	O
made	O
for	O
mining	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
are	O
more	O
complicated	O
to	O
create	O
and	O
more	O
expensive	O
to	O
produce	O
than	O
they	O
are	O
for	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
uses	O
SHA-256	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Litecoin	B-Protocol
is	O
merge	O
mined	O
with	O
another	O
prominent	O
cryptocurrency	O
(	O
Dogecoin	O
)	O
,	O
increasing	O
miner	O
compensation	O
and	O
network	O
security	O
for	O
both	O
blockchains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Litecoin	B-Protocol
has	O
a	O
maximum	O
circulating	O
supply	O
of	O
Ł84	O
,	O
000	O
,	O
000	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
four	O
times	O
larger	O
than	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
maximum	O
circulating	O
supply	O
of	O
₿	O
21,000,000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
and	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
retarget	O
their	O
mining	O
difficulty	O
every	O
2016	O
blocks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
4x	O
faster	O
block	O
speed	O
for	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
,	O
mining	O
difficulty	O
retargets	O
occur	O
approximately	O
every	O
3.5	O
days	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
compares	O
to	O
approximately	O
every	O
14	O
days	O
for	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
MWEB	O
optional	O
privacy	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
's	O
base	O
layer	O
in	O
May	O
2022	O
via	O
soft	O
fork	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Third	O
party	O
vendors	O
providing	O
point	O
of	O
sale	O
infrastructure	O
for	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
include	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Verifone	O
,	O
BitPay	O
,	O
and	O
Coingate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitPay	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
in	O
2021	O
,	O
with	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
initially	O
accounting	O
for	O
less	O
than	O
3%	O
of	O
BitPay	O
transactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
June	O
2022	O
,	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
had	O
grown	O
to	O
represent	O
21%	O
of	O
BitPay	O
transactions	O
by	O
payment	O
count	O
.	O
</s>
