How to Buy Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin (LTC) is one of the oldest digital currency projects in the crypto market, first developed from Bitcoin's open source code (Bitcoin Core) in 2011. LTC is the project's native digital currency designed to improve upon the foundations of BTC with cheap payments and faster transaction speeds.

Litecoin achieves this by having shorter block transaction times (2.5 minutes instead of bitcoin's 10 minutes) and using the Scrypt hashing algorithm which is faster than the SHA-256 algorithm used in the mining of bitcoin and many other proof-of-work blockchains.

Want to dive deeper? Read Kraken’s What is Litecoin? (LTC) to learn more.

Litecoin was created in October 2011 by former Google software engineer, Charlie Lee, and managed by a non-profit organization called the Litecoin Foundation. This body serves to promote the growth and development of the Litecoin blockchain and its native digital asset, LTC.

Litecoin (LTC) is predominantly used to make low-cost, fast digital payments more efficiently than traditional currencies. To date, it is one of the most popular cryptocurrency assets and is supported by a wide range of major exchanges and payment platforms including PayPal.

The project has its own Litecoin-specific wallet where users can safely store their LTC tokens. The Litecoin digital wallet is a mobile-based crypto wallet, but it's also possible to store LTC on other types of hot wallets like desktop wallets and exchange wallets. LTC is also supported by cold wallet solutions like hardware wallet devices.

There is also a Litecoin Visa Debit card which allows users to purchase any item by seamlessly converting LTC into cash at the point of sale.

One of Litecoin's unique selling points is its prestige as being one of the oldest altcoins in the digital asset industry and has successfully survived more than a decade in the turbulent crypto market. Like Bitcoin or Ethereum, Litecoin has become a staple of many people’s crypto investment portfolio thanks to its resilience and staying power.

It's also widely renowned as a reliable platform that was one of the first blockchain networks to support scaling solutions like the Lightning Network and Segregated Witness (SegWit) to improve its fees, throughput and speed. Because of this, many still choose Litecoin as a reliable form of payment.

There are currently more than 71 million LTC tokens in circulation. This represents ~85% of its maximum supply of 84 million tokens. At current prices, Litecoin ranks among the top cryptocurrencies by market cap available today. This figure changes constantly, however, due to the nature of LTC being a volatile asset that changes price based on market movements.

With more than a decade of experience, Kraken has established itself as a pillar of the cryptocurrency industry. While we have grown to now offer over 200 crypto assets, we remain one of the best places to buy LTC.

You can buy Litecoin on Kraken with as little as $10 since each LTC is divisible into smaller units. While you do not need to execute larger orders, Kraken’s advanced price discovery and execution technology helps offer some of the best rates of any cryptocurrency exchange.

Your verification level determines what you can do with your Kraken account. This can be located by signing into your account, selecting your name in the upper right and then selecting Get Verified. You will then see highlighted your current (pending or verified) level.

Dollar cost averaging is a popular strategy that allows you to invest in an asset at regular time intervals using fiat currencies (cash) and other payment methods like a bank transfer, regardless of its price. This sort of recurring buy strategy is designed to help build wealth over time while minimizing the impact of unpredictable price changes.

Kraken works hard to protect your LTC
When you buy Litecoin with Kraken, your crypto is automatically stored in our hot wallet — an accessible but highly secure place to keep your LTC safe.

Kraken allows you to hold your own Litecoin
Our rigorous security standards ensure that our users’ crypto is always safe on our platform. However, if you want to hold or transfer your Litecoin, Kraken allows you to take full custody of your LTC in the wallet of your choice, unlike many other fintech services. Litecoin can easily be stored on hardware wallets, web, or mobile wallets.

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Disclaimer
Information provided in this “Learn” section is for general educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment or other advice on financial products. Such information is not, and should not be read as, an offer or recommendation to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any particular digital asset or to use any particular investment strategy. Kraken makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability, or validity of any such information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.