It’s been a while since Litecoin was introduced to the market. It followed on from Bitcoin, promising some improvements over the original cryptocurrency. Lots of investors have turned to such coins as an alternative to the fiat currencies of traditional banking.
Litecoin is an old hand at a fairly new (starting in 2009) game, while Ethereum is a relative newcomer to this nascent industry. It’s been drawing a lot of attention lately, making the question of Litecoin vs Ethereum a pertinent one.
Ethereum is regarded as one of the top two cryptocurrencies on earth, despite only being launched in 2015, so if Litecoin vs Ethereum is on your mind, a quick overview of their relative merits would seem to be in order:
Making Transactions
Litecoin is used entirely to make transactions as an online digital currency that users can mine. Ethereum can also be used in this way, but it has an additional function in that it’s a platform for smart contracts that can be used to raise funds for new projects.
It’s got a decentralized management structure that allows the smart contracts to be implemented. Ethereum lets users stipulate a funding period for a new enterprise, and once targets have been achieved they can then agree on subsequent stages of development. Involved parties are allotted votes in proportion to how many digital coins they have contributed, meaning that the more coins you use to fund the project the more votes you get to have a say in it.
The Reward Structure for Cryptos
The Litecoin vs Ethereum question seems clear here. They both rely on the proof-of-work concept, but Ethereum rewards miners with five coins per resolved block, while with Litecoin it’s 25 coins. You’d think that Litecoin would be the winner then, but that would be to ignore the fact that they have different values and models. Litecoin’s release limit is fixed so that saturation results in the flow of coins stopping. Ethereum’s model differs from this, and it allows a set amount of coins to be released every year. So, it’s only clear that the Litecoin vs Ethereum question is far from clear!
Mining Algorithm
Litecoin relies on the scrypt algorithm which means users don’t have to buy dedicated mining boxes. Slower computers will do just fine and the process uses less electricity too. Ethereum uses the 'ethash' algorithm which can run on its own network, thus avoiding the centralization of mining operations. Litecoin vs Ethereum seen fairly evenly matched on this one.
Transaction Fee
Litecoin’s transaction fees are fixed, but Ethereum’s can vary, because it makes allowances for transaction complexity, storage requirements and bandwidth when it calculates how much to charge for each individual transaction. In this regard, it seems that Ethereum has the more sensible approach, but overall, it’s quite hard to decide a clear winner in the contest between Litecoin vs Ethereum . They both have their own merits, and each will probably suit certain circumstances better than the other.
