Charlie Lee cryptocurrency remains one of the most famous, although it is no longer in the top 15 by capitalization. Experts estimate the likelihood of the asset's return to the market leaders
On October 12, 2021, it will be exactly ten years since the creation of the cryptocurrency Litecoin. It uses the same programming code as bitcoin, with some differences in characteristics. Altcoin creator Charlie Lee said that the coin is not meant to replace bitcoin, but to complement it. While bitcoin is called "digital gold," Litecoin is called "digital silver.
The total issue of Litecoin, as in the case of the first cryptocurrency, is limited. However, while the number of bitcoins will eventually be 21 million, in the case of LTC the figure is slightly higher - 84 million. Litcoin offers cheaper and faster transactions. The project's policy is that bitcoin is needed as a means to preserve value, while Litecoin is a tool for everyday payments.
However, over time, Litecoin's popularity is declining. This can be evidenced by the fact that the cryptocurrency is only 16th in the list of the largest in terms of capitalization. Its current market valuation is $11 billion, while Dogecoin, for example, is capitalized at $29.5 billion, with market leaders Bitcoin and Ethereum valued at $1 trillion and $416 billion, respectively.
LTC has fallen far behind other cryptocurrencies in terms of development and marketing promotion, said ENCRY Foundation co-founder Roman Nekrasov. If back in 2017 they saw in litecoin the prospect of mass implementation, now few people will name at least five reasons to use this particular cryptocurrency, the expert believes.
When the bitcoin network was experiencing congestion and sending funds using BTC required a long wait, the mempool was overloaded, lightcoin was used as a means to quickly send funds. It was popular, had liquidity and was easily converted to bitcoins. Now the problem of bitcoin's overloaded meme is not as acute, Nekrasov said. Layer 2 solutions like the Lightning Network have emerged, allowing for almost instantaneous transactions.
"Perhaps the Litecoin Foundation has funding problems. Perhaps it lacks the vision to develop a planned marketing strategy. It's hard to say what this has to do with, but LTC is underrepresented in the information field of the crypto market. I don't see the ground on which Litecoin would be able to break into the top 5 or move to a powerful growth cycle," the expert said.
Ivan Sharov, CEO of online store for mining equipment and computer components Hardvar.ru, also doesn't believe that Litecoin will make it to the top 5 cryptocurrencies by capitalization. However, according to him, the rate of altcoin is closely related to the price of bitcoin.
"Overcoming LTC's historical high directly depends on whether bitcoin can update its own," Sharov explained.
BitCluster co-founder Sergey Arestov added that Litecoin is a coin "from which you can expect anything." He recalled that L3+ miners, which are used to mine the altcoin, cost $5,000 in 2017, and in 2019 their official price was about $49. Meanwhile, the current cost of the equipment is more than $1k.