Crypto Academy Week 9 - Homework Post for Professor @yohan2on

I would like to thank @steemitblog for staring the season 2 of Steemit Crypto Academy Courses.

First of all I would like to congratulate all the newly appointed professors.

So, let's start the Homework Task Season 2 Week 1 for Professor @yohan2on.

Homework task: Write about any one of the following Altcoins
Litecoin (LTC)
Ripple (XRP)
Binance coin (BNB)

I will write about Litecoin here.

What is Litecoin?

Litecoin, also known as the silver to Bitcoin gold, is one of the most common altcoins in terms of marketcap and one of the most notable forks of Bitcoin.

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For those unfamiliar with the cryptocurrency industry and blockchain technology, hard forks refer to any significant modifications to a network protocol.

Litecoin is a peer-to-peer Internet currency that allows for near-instant, low-cost transfers to everyone in the world. Litecoin is an open-source distributed payment network with no central authority. Math protects the network while also allowing customers to manage their finances.source

Litecoin outperforms the leading math-based currency in terms of transaction approval times and storage performance.

HOW LITECOIN WORKS?

It is essential to have a basic understanding of blockchain technologies to understand how bitcoin operates. Information is coded and stored of a block in the blockchain, and each block strung together forms a chain. The knowledge chain serves as litecoin's transaction ledger. According to the Harvard Business Review, blockchain is a transparent, distributed ledger that "can monitor transactions between two parties securely and in a verifiable and permanent way."Source

Encryption mechanisms are used to keep the details used inside a blockchain system secure. The majority of blockchain transactions are believed to be private.

Users mine Litecoin's, as they do with many other cryptocurrencies, in the hopes of receiving the currency in exchange. Miners use complicated mathematical equations to validate transactions and generate new blocks, making LiteCoin a math-based currency.

PROS OF LITECOIN

Litecoin is one of the top 10 cryptos (currently ranked 5th in terms of marketcap) for a reason, with low block generation times, an enhanced Graphic User Interface (GUI), and exciting trading
ability.

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1. An open-source network

The fact that Litecoin is an open-source framework ensures that updates to its protocol can be introduced quickly. This is one of the key benefits of investing in Litecoin. Its worth noting that updates are often made to adapt to the crypto markets needs.

2. Low transaction fees

When opposed to other coins or standard payment schemes, Litecoin has relatively low transaction fees. This is a significant element that will help LTC adoption become more widespread and seamless.

3. Fast process

The pace of Litecoin is perhaps one of the most significant advantages of investing in it. Litecoin has a four-fold speed advantage over Bitcoin. Litecoin transactions are processed in 2.5 minutes, while Bitcoin transactions can take up to 10 minutes.

4. Easy mining process

The pace of Litecoin is perhaps one of the most significant advantages of investing in it. Litecoin has a four-fold speed advantage over Bitcoin. Litecoin transactions are processed in 2.5 minutes, while Bitcoin transactions can take up to 10 minutes.

5. Easy to trade

All hardware wallets support Litecoin, and there are atomic switches between LTC and BTC. Furthermore, LTC is an appealing choice for newcomers seeking to invest in the cryptocurrency market due to its lower price relative to other top coins - with almost nil trading costs and lower uncertainty rate.

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Cons of Litecoin

Investing in Litecoin has some disadvantages, including its benefits. Investors should be aware of the disadvantages of investing in Litecoin in order to make an educated decision to determine if investing in LTC is a smart investment.

Here are the cons of the Litecoin, lets have a look.

1. On the Dark Web, Litecoin is one of the most common coin

Litecoin is the second most common cryptocurrency on the Dark Web, with almost 30% of underground vendors embracing it. This may be a major disadvantage for both big investors and everyday users, particularly because the Silk Road tarnished cryptocurrency's picture.

2. Litecoin reputation has eroded over time

Despite having a reliable development team, Litecoin has lost some of its reputations. To be more specific, Charlie Lee sold his Litecoin shares near the coin all-time peak in 2017, raising questions about his belief in the coin. Furthermore, the demise of the now-defunct Litepay service sparked heated debate among crypto enthusiasts. Its worth noting that, even though the Litepay services initial launch prompted a spike in the price of LTC, the LTC team announced.

3. No Central Litecoin Authority

Litecoin is an open-source software project that is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. Since it is an open-source project, it is not governed by an open-sourcetral body. Litecoins are still relatively unknown in comparison to Bitcoins, owing to the lack of a central Litecoin authority. As a result, the major crypto currency exchange platforms still do not accept Litecoins.

4. Coins are not protected

Since Litecoins are not regulated by a central authority, you can feel hesitant to use them. If the coin is robbed or destroyed, the money is gone and there is nothing you can do about it. The client code is not well developed and is built on an outdated Bitcoin version. The valuation is purely speculative, and Litecoins have few implementations.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BITCOIN AND LITECOIN

One of the most significant distinctions between the two cryptocurrencies is that Litecoin requires 2.5 minutes to create a block of transactions, whereas Bitcoin takes 10 minutes. This means that LiteCoin is four times better than Bitcoin at confirming transfers. This disparity in processing time may make Litecoin more appealing to retailers, which is why LiteCoin is often treated as a currency for everyday transactions, while Bitcoin is currently regarded as a store of value.

Another vital distinction between Litecoin and Bitcoin is the mining algorithm. Although they are both proofs of work, Bitcoin employs the SHA-256 hashing algorithm. Scrypt is a relatively recent algorithm used by Litecoin.

Bitcoin and Litecoin are both made as an incentive for miners who validate and process transactions during the mining process. Both are now in short supply. Bitcoin has a cumulative limit of 21 million coins, while Litecoin has a limit of 84 million. No new coins will be produced after these caps are met.

At the End:

Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that uses blockchain technologies to enable individuals and companies to send money directly to each other. This means that all transactions are registered in a public ledger, allowing the currency to run a decentralised financial mechanism that is free of political regulation or censorship.