Having seen the rapid gains in the price of bitcoin over the last two years, interest in litecoin has expanded exponentially and many individuals are now looking to mine this alternative digital currency. Here’s what you need to know.
A quick comparison
First, what’s the difference between bitcoin and litecoin? There are a few key differences that you should be aware of, but not in the sense that they affect the way and litecoin is used or will be used in the broader transactory term. The first major difference is that litecoin has a larger potential supply them bitcoin. Whereas bitcoin has a limit of 21 million units, litecoin has a limit of 84 million units. Litecoin also has a faster transaction time them bitcoin. Bitcoin transaction confirmations can take up to 10 minutes, whereas litecoin confirmations come on average every 2.5 minutes.
What you’ll need
So now that’s out of the way, how can you go about mining litecoin? The process is very similar to that of mining bitcoin. You’ll first need to download and set up a litecoin client. This is available for the majority of operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac OS etc.) through the litecoin website. Once you have downloaded the client, open it up and allow the litecoin blockchain history to download. This may take some time, but be patient. Once downloaded, you’re ready to start mining litecoin.
Something to bear in mind
The best thing about downloading the litecoin client in this way is that it is effectively an all-purpose solution. For this reason, you do not need to download a separate litecoin wallet – as this application serves all round. One thing you need to do however is make sure that – as you did with your bitcoin wallet – you add extra layers of security in order to keep your mined litecoin safe. The litecoin client that you download from the litecoin website allows you to encrypt your coins with a password. The more complex this password, the better.
And that’s it. You can receive, mine and send litecoin all from the same application. Easy.
What if you just want to buy litecoin? Well, you can find out how here…
