Litecoin vs. Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: Differences & Comparison

Earlier, only techies knew about digital currencies and their usage. But, today, almost half of the population are familiar with the terms like Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain. With the rising awareness of cryptocurrency, more and more investors are showing interest in becoming a part of the crypto community. Moreover, today numerous online forums offer robust Bitcoin training to educate regular people about crypto investments. In addition to this, newbies can take the help of expert Bitcoin professional to leverage digital fundings. 

 

In this article, we will learn about the three prominent cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. We will explore how three of them differ from one another in terms of market capital, distribution, transaction speed, and cryptographic algorithm. So, let us begin with the comparison:

 

Table of contents

 

  • Litecoin Vs. Bitcoin Vs. Ethereum
  • Market capitalization
  • Distribution of crypto coins 
  • Transaction speed and confirmation timings
  • Cryptographic Algorithms
  • Closing Thoughts

 

Litecoin Vs. Bitcoin Vs. Ethereum

 

Market capitalization: 

Market capitalization is one of the criteria where Litecoin, Bitcoin, and Ethereum significantly differ from one another. The market cap represents the absolute dollar value of every crypto coin in the market circulation. Let us see the market cap of these three coins:

 

Litecoin: The total market cap value of Litecoin is 13.7 billion USD currently. However, last year its market cap was marked as the highest record in its history exceeding 10 billion USD. Additionally, since last year its value has been increasing at the rate of 100%. 

 

Bitcoin: As per data from march 2021, the market cap value of Bitcoin is 1 trillion USD. This value is 70 times greater than Litecoin. Also, the Bitcoin network is much more broader than any other cryptocurrency present today. 

 

Ethereum: From current stats, Ethereum has a total market cap value of around 212 billion USD. Hence, it marks itself as the second most broad and biggest cryptocurrency across the world. 

 

You can learn about how digital currency works by taking Bitcoin training from a good blockchain course provider. 

 

Distribution of crypto coins: 

The distribution of cryptocurrency refers to the production volume of coins. Here, we can determine it by the total number of coins that each of these three cryptocurrencies acquires in total. 

 

Litecoin: Litecoin has a total coin distribution of 84 million coins. Though this might seem like a benefit to Litecoin, it does not add any value in the practical world. This is so because only a few percent of coins get to circulate in the market actively. 

 

Bitcoin: Despite the fact that Bitcoin is the leading cryptocurrency in the crypto spectrum, it is far behind Litecoin in terms of the number of coin production. As per data, Bitcoin can not produce more than 21 million coins. However, it does not affect the prominence of Bitcoin in the crypto community. Additionally, the minimal amount of transferable Bitcoin is only 0.0000001 of total Bitcoin. It is known as one Satoshi. 

 

Ethereum: Interestingly, only ten addresses hold 16.6 million ETH tokens. The reason for this could be that smart contracts in Ethereum hold most of the currency in circulation. Also, another fact is that ETH tokens are active around 440 times more in comparison to Bitcoin in terms of transactions. 

 

Hence, regardless of the general cost of each of the three currencies, users must not face any difficulty in buying affordable products or services. Then only these big-name cryptocurrencies will be beneficial for regular people. 

 

Transaction speed and confirmation timings

The transaction speed of cryptocurrencies defines the time taken by them to pass the confirmation stage. This implies the duration of the process where the block gains verification from members and gets added to the network. This area is one of the important criteria that users look for when choosing cryptocurrency for trading. 

 

Litecoin: As per data, Litecoin takes around 2.5 minutes to complete the confirmation process. Users find this speed acceptable. 

 

Bitcoin: For Bitcoin, it takes around 9 minutes to finish the entire confirmation process. However, this transaction speed may differ with different traffic volumes. Though users trust Bitcoin the most among other currencies, they are not happy with its transaction speed. 

 

Ethereum: Due to huge transaction traffic in Ethereum almost every day, its transaction speed is very slow in comparison to others. Though normally it might take 5 minutes, it can extend up to 5 hours. 

 

Here, we can see that Litecoin is a better option in terms of transaction speed. If you are about to do daily transactions, then you must choose Litecoin over Ethereum and Bitcoin. 

 

Cryptographic Algorithms

The differences in cryptographic algorithms directly affect the procedures of new coin mining. In all three: Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum currencies, immense computing power streamlines the transactions. 

 

Litecoin: It uses the newest algorithm in the blockchain market known as Scrypt. Cryptographic differences make currencies work in a different manner than one another. 

 

Bitcoin: Bitcoin has been using the longstanding SHA-256 cryptographic algorithm. 

Ethereum: It employs the Keccak-256 hash function as a cryptographic algorithm. Also, it is actually a participant in the 2007 competition held by the national institute of science and technology for the SHA-3 cryptographic hash function. 

 

You can opt for learning cryptography and proceed your way towards becoming an expert  Ethereum blockchain developer. As per the surveys by job portals, cryptography and blockchain technology skills are getting a surge in demand by employers. 

 

Closing Thoughts

Though most nations don’t see digital money as legal currency, the crypto community is continuously evolving. Also, crypto money provides benefits that Fiat currencies don’t offer. Some of them are transparency, decentralization, privacy, and speed. Hence, you must try out enjoying the crypto-financial services. Make sure to invest in different crypto assets to build a valuable portfolio. However, do consider the positives and negatives of each option in order to make an informed investment. 

 

To learn more about different cryptocurrencies, their importance, how they work, and underlying concepts, check out the BLOCKCHAIN COUNCIL. Aside from providing you with robust and detailed knowledge, the platform also offers multiple blockchain-based certification programs. Take the course and become a certified blockchain developer, Ethereum. 

 

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