Cryptocurrencies are becoming a part of our everyday lives. The market is getting bigger and bigger and with that, it’s becoming so diverse and so controversial. At the moment, there are hundreds of different coins available for users, and even though Bitcoin is something everyone’s heard of, Litecoin and Ethereum are fighting for second place.
Everyone is trying to buy some coins, but did you know that people buy coins not to keep them, but to actually trade them? As we mentioned, there are too many cryptocurrencies available, but some of them stand out. It is said that at the moment Ethereum (ETH) is right after the Bitcoin, but Litecoin (LTC) is getting extremely close to ETH.
People who trade in these currencies say that all of them are really good. However, the most important question is which one is better? People want to know which coin is worth mining in 2024 and what should they focus on.
Because of that, we did a little research to show you the similarities and the differences between these currencies. At the end of the day, it’s your choice which one to choose, but it’s better to know everything before you decide on one instead of the other.
Ethereum
Let’s start at the beginning, this cryptocurrency was made by Vitalik Buterin, who is a Bitcoin enthusiast and also a Toronto programmer. In 2013 he wrote a paper about ETH where he explained the potential uses of different blockchain technology. He made this to allow developers to have a decentralized platform where they can build applications and have a financial instrument in the process.
The cryptocurrency came to life in 2015 and since it is a relatively new thing, it is amazing how fast it’s been growing. At the moment, it is right behind the Bitcoin which says a lot. Even though ETH is considered to be a crypto coin, the developers see the value of the tokens. It is called ether meaning “aside”/
The difference between the BTC and the ETH is that the first one is was built as a crypto platform, and the second one is a decentralized app platform that not only hosts the currency, but it also fuels the network. This difference may not seem like a huge one, but the distinction is the main reason why ETH became so popular and widely used in such a short amount of time.
With Ethereum you can do so many things, starting from transferring content, shares or property up to monetary exchanges. To transfer any items on value, you will only need to follow the rules that are built-in in the contracts. People say that this currency or platform is only scratching the surface and that in the near future we will be able to use it for so many things. Experts are even comparing it to the internet we have now and the dial-up modems that we used in the early days.
If they are correct, then who knows what the future holds. One thing is for sure, with ETH we will be able to do things that we cannot even dream of.
Litecoin
This cryptocurrency is 4 years older than the ETH. It was first introduced in 2011 and many said that it was a copy of the Bitcoin. As time passed, people learned that there are a lot of unique things that LTC brings to the table. The main difference between LTC and Bitcoin is that the first features a finite supply of 84 million coins, where the second one features only 21 million.
This cryptocurrency can be mined about 4 times faster than, the first ranked, BTC. What this means is that all the transactions can be finished faster since in the process they need to be verified and added to the currency’s ledger. While BTC is Gold, LTC is referred to as Silver. This means that LTC is used to target smaller transactions.
This coin can be subdivided into 8 decimal places, the same as the Bitcoin. Today, the smallest units are not in use, but when the coins increase their values, the smaller increments will become more useful. LTC uses Segregated Witness technology, which allows more transactions within a block. This speeds up the time needed to process the individual transaction. And as we all know, Bitcoin is widely criticized for the slow transaction time.
The currency can support smart contracts and with that govern transactions and perform other functions. However, ETH is far better for things like this since it offers a lot more possibilities.
Similarities
Now that you know more about both currencies, let’s see how they are similar to each other.
The first similarity is that they are both traded on Coinbase. The platform works in a similar way as the stock exchanges. You can sell them to buyers or purchase them from sellers with a real-time trading price. For advanced traders, experts suggest that people should use GDAX. Both Coinbase and GDAX offer Litecoin, Bitcoin and Ethereum.
These crypto coins are purchased by users and Binaryx suggests that the holding position is not the most important thing to traders. Both currencies are really popular and they have the possibility to change many things in the future.
Now let’s talk about the speed of the transfers. We started using crypto coins because the bank transactions are really, really slow. BTC is faster than them, however, both LTC and ETH are faster than Bitcoin. Experts say that both currencies have different approaches to speed up the transactions, but the end result is really similar. It’s a fact that faster transactions help the currency to be viable.
Differences
Both of them were inspired by Bitcoin, but the main difference is that LTC is seen as a currency and a good alternative to Bitcoin. After their development, ETH and LTC took a very different path in development. ETH is seen as a platform and it attracts the attention of developers, whereas, LTC is a cheaper and faster version of BTC.
LTC is going up slowly and steady, but ETH is on a roll. The second-largest cryptocurrency has long-term applications and it speaks about the enthusiasm the community has for it. It has an ability to transfer value, host applications, store data and communicate, all on the blockchain. So, we cannot be surprised that developers and investors are more and more interested in it.
When it comes to mining in 2024, it all depends on what you are looking for. Both currencies will get the job done if you are looking just that – a currency. However, their differences are making one more attractive than the other.
If you want something cheap, fast and stable, then LTC should be your choice. However, if you want something more and something that will give you more freedom in the blockchain, then maybe you should opt for Ethereum.
Have you ever used any of these currencies? What was your experience with them?
