After Bitcoin’s initial split last month it reached a high of roughly $4,500 in mid-August. But now it’s trading at its highest level ever, reaching a price of $4,700 in some major exchanges this week. The criptocurrency is up now 350% from roughly $1,000 since the beginning of the year. Bitcoin may be the most widely used and talked about cryptocurrency. But there are other digital currencies out there that have also delivered massive returns. One of them is called Litecoin. This lesser known currency in the same asset class hit a record high of $64 earlier this week, which represents a 1,400% increase since January 1st, 2017.
Launched in 2011, Litecoin has often been referred to as the silver to Bitcoin’s gold. It was invented by Charlie Lee, an MIT graduate who used to work at Google. Investopedia claims that “Litecoin was developed with the aim to improve on Bitcoin’s shortcomings, and has earned industry support along with high trade volume and liquidity over the years.” Like many other digital currencies, Litecoin runs on an open source payment network that anyone can access. It’s not controlled by any central authority. Other than developers, there are a growing number of merchants who accept Litecoin. Although similar in many ways to Bitcoin, here are some ways Litecoin is different.
