While many refer to Bitcoin as digital gold, $LTC is described by many enthusiasts as digital silver.

It was created in 2011 by former Google employee Charlie Lee and has many similar characteristics to Bitcoin.

Litecoin aims to reduce the time required to confirm new transactions, in addition to adjusting the mining process. This makes it easier for anyone to participate in the process of creating new coins, unlike Bitcoin.

The faster transaction processing has led some analysts to argue that Litecoin is a better alternative to Bitcoin for everyday use.

On the other hand, Lee has said that he believes Bitcoin works well as a store of value, while Litecoin is better for daily transactions.

Litecoin is also designed to produce more coins – it has a limit of 84 million units, compared to Bitcoin's 21 million. Around 54 million coins are currently in circulation.