$ETH Litecoin (LTC) is a decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency launched in 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer. Often referred to as "digital silver" in comparison to Bitcoin's "digital gold," it aims to provide faster transaction confirmations and lower fees. While it shares a similar codebase to Bitcoin, Litecoin distinguishes itself with a faster block generation time (2.5 minutes compared to Bitcoin's 10 minutes) and the use of the Scrypt mining algorithm. This potentially makes it more accessible for everyday transactions and micropayments, although it faces strong competition from other cryptocurrencies and layer 2 solutions in terms of speed and affordability