Created by former Google engineer Charlie Lee in 2011, its blockchain was developed based on Bitcoin’s open-source codes. Litecoin (LTC) is one of the first altcoins. While some crypto investors view Bitcoin as a good store of value, Litecoin is often seen as a better option for peer-to-peer payments due to its lower confirmation time and transaction fees. When it was first introduced in 2011, Litecoin was branded as “the silver to bitcoin’s gold” for its blockchain was largely based on Bitcoin’s code. Litecoin (LTC) is one of the oldest of all altcoins on the market. Litecoin can be purchased on various cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance. The next halving is expected to happen in August 2023. Similar to Bitcoin, it is deflationary in nature and halves every 840,000 blocks (approximately every 4 years). Litecoin has a total supply of 84 million. For example, Segregated Witness (SegWit) and Lightning Network were run on the Litecoin blockchain before Bitcoin.
Gpu mining litecoin 2018 code#
Litecoin adopted the code and certain features of Bitcoin in its blockchain, but it prioritizes transaction confirmation speed to facilitate a higher transaction per second (TPS) and a shorter block generation time.ĭue to its similarity with Bitcoin, the Litecoin blockchain has been used as a testing ground for developers to experiment with technologies they want to implement on Bitcoin. It aimed to be the lite version of Bitcoin that enables nearly instant and low-cost payments. Litecoin (LTC) is an altcoin founded in 2011 by former Google engineer Charlie Lee. To watch our latest interview with Wei-Tek Tsai on cybersecurity and cryptocurrencies, click here. These rules, and modifications to them in the coming years, could have a “profound impact” on the technology and direction of the digital currency market. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has imposed new rules on digital currencies, and likes them to be considered security tokens, meaning that issuing and trading tokens needs to follow SEC rules,” says Tsai. Just how efficient will depend partially on how security tokens are regulated. In the future, issuing coins through means other than mining will improve efficiency. So, what are the signs if you’re involved in the process? “If you see your GPU running hard, you know it’s mining Ethereum or similar digital currencies.” Don’t assume the worst, Tsai says: “some digital currencies (such as Bitcoin) need specialized hardware to be competitive in mining,” making your computer an unlikely candidate. After all, crypto-mining malware had a big year last year. “People can design better hardware for mining, better machines that use less energy and produce more coins.”įor some, the sound of loudly-spinning fans during normal web browsing can prompt the question of whether their computer’s being used for mining. “Last year, Bitcoin took about the electricity demand of Ireland,” says Tsai. And the fact that current mining methods use too much energy is hardly a secret. Therefore, it’s no wonder that the process is energy intensive. Since anyone can get a copy of the mining software, computing speed becomes the essential differentiator. You can read a detailed description on IEEE Spectrum here. They also collect small transaction fees from users. The difficulty of the puzzle varies to keep the rate of block creation constant, allowing the currency to operate without a central regulator.įor solving this numeric puzzle, the miner gets to establish the next block in the blockchain, as well as newly-minted bitcoins.
With Bitcoin, for example, in the mining process, “machines need to perform a computation that is tough to solve but easy to verify the solution,” says Tsai.
To help clarify the concept of mining, we talked with Wei-Tek Tsai, IEEE member and Professor at Beihang University (China), who specializes in cryptocurrencies.Ĭoin mining relates to the way digital currencies are issued. Another, which can be a bit more confusing, is coin mining. Of the buzzwords often associated with cryptocurrencies, one is blockchain, which has the potential to impact a number of industries (like the Internet of Things ). Written by IEEE | | Updated: May 11, 2018īitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dash, Ripple, Dogecoin, the list goes on – cryptocurrencies have captured the public imagination, and they’ve grown (and sometimes fallen) rapidly this past year.