Litecoin (LTC)
Payments
Litecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies, launched in October 2011 by Charlie Lee as a faster, lighter version of Bitcoin. It has 2.5-minute blocks and a cap of 84 million LTC.
Profile last verified 23 September 2026. Live figures from CoinGecko. Not investment advice.
Litecoin price chart
Loading chart...
What is Litecoin?
Litecoin copied Bitcoin’s design but changed the mining algorithm to Scrypt and made blocks four times as frequent. It has often been a test bed for upgrades later used on Bitcoin, such as SegWit.
Its block reward halves about every four years; the August 2023 halving cut it to 6.25 LTC. The optional MWEB upgrade (2022) added private transactions.
Key facts
| Ticker | LTC |
|---|---|
| Type | Payments |
| Launched | October 2011 |
| Consensus | Proof of work (Scrypt) |
| Supply | Hard cap of 84 million LTC; halvings about every four years. |
| Official site | litecoin.org |
What LTC is used for
- Payments with faster confirmation than Bitcoin
- Low-fee transfers between exchanges
Main risks
- Less distinct role now that many chains offer cheap payments
- Slow development and limited new features
- Price volatility
Related guides
Litecoin: frequently asked questions
- How is Litecoin different from Bitcoin?
- Blocks are every 2.5 minutes instead of 10, it uses Scrypt mining, and its cap is 84 million instead of 21 million.
- When is the next Litecoin halving?
- The last one was in August 2023; halvings come every 840,000 blocks, so the next is expected around mid-to-late 2027.
- Is Litecoin private?
- Not by default. The optional MWEB feature lets users make confidential transactions.