Could Litecoin Replace Bitcoin?
Introduction
Recently there has been a lot of talk about something which people call the "flippening" where people think that Ethereum could end up being worth more than Bitcoin.
This has been prompted at least in part by all the issues with full blocks, rising transaction fees and the growing civil war within the Bitcoin community over the block size issue.
However ethereum has been having it's own scaling issues - anyone who has participated in any of the recent ICOs, or has tried to make any kind of transactions at the same time will have experienced that.
I don't know if a price "flippening" for Bitcoin and Ethereum will happen for sure (personally I find it unlikely). From a functional standpoint ethereum is quite different from bitcoin.
It is much more of a straight currency (when it works as intended) and there is something to be said for simplicity.
I think it is therefore unlikely that ethereum will actually replace bitcoin even if they swap places in terms of valuation.
Given time, I think the main competitor to Bitcoin is Litecoin and this is at least partly due to how similar the two coins are.
(NB. I'm not saying it will - I just think it is a possibility to consider.)
Why Might it Happen?
There are a few reasons people may believe this to be a possibility :
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The Litecoin community is not constantly at war.
Litecoin does not have any scaling issues at present.
Thanks to point 1 it has already upgraded to Segregated Witness and so should be protected against scaling issues for the foreseeable future.
The ability of the LTC community to agree on Segwit also sets a precedent that should bode well for future upgrades - it was not controversial.
Litecoin has block times of 2.5 minutes - four times faster than Bitcoin - that actually makes a huge difference in terms of practical utility.
Charlie Lee (the creator of Litecoin) recently left Coinbase to dedicate his full time to Litecoin.
Litecoin is a useful testing ground for new Bitcoin technology - it is not too much of a stretch for frustrated developers to just shift their focus to LTC if they get tired of the current issues.
Will LTC replace BTC?
Whilst Litecoin has the best chance of doing this I personally do not feel anything will replace Bitcoin.
Don't get me wrong.
Using bitcoin right now is a painful experience particularly when you compare it to newer currencies like Steem, but even compared to Litecoin it is torture.
It is expensive and incredibly slow. If you get the transaction fee wrong then you could end up waiting for days for your transaction to clear - assuming it ever does.
We also have the looming UASF (User Activated Soft Fork) upcoming on August the 1st 2017. This is increasing polarisation within the community and there is fear of what exactly will happen.
Some parts of the community are supporting it, others are vehemently opposing it. There are also alternative options being pushed by mining cartels and other vested interests.
It is natural for people to be uncertain in these circumstances.
Whilst these issues are troubling I think they will be overcome.
I think that once the first scaling agreement/consensus is reached further upgrades and improvements will be easier to accomplish.
Like many things in life the first time can be the most difficult and fear provoking.
Conclusion
In my personal opinion Litecoin will continue to grow but it will not supplant or replace bitcoin.
I may be completely wrong though and I would love to hear other opinions.
In view of this (and since we don't have Steempolls yet) I have created a Twitter poll here:
https://twitter.com/Soul_Eater_43/status/877914860536725504
Please vote on it and also let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Thank you for reading
I like a lot of things about the LTC and always will.
I also feel there is a reason why Charlie Lee the LTC founder (for those reading who may not know about this) --- left his steady paycheck at Coinbase exchange -- to go back to LTC full time.
Less than a week later, (I wrote about this a week or more ago) --- LTC moons and hits YUGE prices on the charts.....
And Charlie is not a dummy.
LTC could change the game that it has been in forever as THE 2nd ever crypto currency.
-- In Charlie I Trust.
I like Litecoin very well. and as you know China and Korea were behind the last biggest rise for LTC.
Personally i am just waiting a little more for a correction in the market to buy some few more. I think LTC wont go below $45 again, because of the high volume on it, furthermore Charlie lee will devote his time to develop it more and more.
concerning LTC vs BTC I dont think there will not be a chance for LTC to beat BTC, unless a split on the Blockchain happens on 1st August. but I think this wont happen. if it happens I am sure people will loose their trust in BTC and shift to other altcoins mainly ETHER, LTC etc....
The only way Litecoin will replace Bitcoin is if we see a split. Who will lead the way on which bitcoin is the better one to use or adopt as a digital currency. If we look at ETH as a test case ETH classic has been left behind with the ICO craze.
Bitcoin should be used for large purchases and Litecoin can and is a game changer for every day fluid purchases.
It will be interesting to see!
You're asking if silver will ever supplant gold.
Both will co-exist but one will be more desirable and valuable than the other.
That is kind of how I see it too.
Not for me.
There's absolutely no reason to compare digital information to gold or silver.
The comparison is subjective, and although I see it too, the reality is not like that at all.
True you can't make anything out of digital information in the same physical way but then again gold and silver are bulky, hard to transport and in some respects more difficult to secure.
I also believe they will keep co-existing. Maybe not as "silver" and "gold", but in some way anyway.
Watching diverse cryptocurrencies evolve and the evolution of blockchain technology will keep being exciting. We are just at the beginning of this stuff.
It could literally change the world.
I think it will!
I agree with you on this, silver and gold are physically different, the differences can be SEEN. Litecoin could very easily replace Bitcoin, or Bitcoin kill off Litecoin all together. There's no need for both to exist.
I read this offline during coffee break
I totally have the same opinion
it may change in the future
but for now BTC is the most accepted crypto currency in the physical market and when those shops in Japan officially start accepting it - it'll be like a hamehamewave :)
but i am not a fortune teller so I don't hold the truth :)
we shall see
Yes definitely.
they already do
)
](
you can go super sian now on Bitcoin :)
Best answer to date!
But there are multiple times in history when silver was overvalued vs gold. China had a silver standard I believe at one point.
I feel it's more like, "we're not sure yet who will be gold and who will be silver." (I mean gold isn't gold because it came first)
All of these are temporary placeholders until this...
I have sent your planet a new transmission. Dennis did something and broke our regular communication method.
You had one job Dennis!!!!
I'd like to see STEEM be the one to take BTC's place :)
Yeah I would too. Very different set of rules but a much bigger market than just 'money!'
That would be awesome. Who knows perhaps one day it could?
STEEM to 1000$
Moon :)
If only we had faster block times LOL!
kidding
(:
Oh mate! I've got a wallet full of Litecoin (my main holdings apart from steem, of course) and your article gives me the courage in hang on tight and ride out the long game!
Another home run posting, @thecryptofiend! Bring on August 1st and the UASF! It'll be very interesting to see the effect it has on Litecoin's price. Will be watching very closely as it happens, that's for sure!
Thanks again and all the best, buddy! :)
Thank you.
I invested a large chunk of my crypto funds into LTC this morning, had an order in for a decent price and got matched when it came down. I'm happy to hold on for the long term also.
I do think LTC will replace BTC, because LTC is better and has been underperforming BTC for far to long:)
Not sure if that is enough for it to replace it though.
I think no. Once SegWit kicks in Bitcoin my prediction is LTC goes down...
@btcmillionaire I agree bitcoin is going no where. The name brings legitimacy to the crypto world due to how long bitcoin has been around and would hurt the space to see it de-throned. Etheruem will do its thing seeing as its a nice alternative but litecoin looks like a testing platform for the future of bitcoin. Just my 0.000007 btc
Agee! Haha I like that last comment! Changing the terminology of phrase From fiat to crypto :)
@btcmillionaire hahaha I was waiting for someone to catch that. I would keep upvoting you but gotta let the steem power recharge so i threw ya a follow. Good luck on the road to becoming a millionaire!
Thanks! I'm upvoting everyone's! In a state of Steem upvote Euphoria! Haha
@btcmillionaire hahah make it rain steem!
If SegWitX2 goes off without issues, and it significantly decreases transaction cost and speed (by at least half, but ideally 5-10x) then I believe BTC makes a major move up and LTC will move down.
We will know who is right on this by the end of August. :)
Maybe even earlier I think late July wcould have the first part of Segwit2x locked in!
Maybe.
We will see litecoin going up in value significantly this summer. After the dust settles with bitcoin/segwit, I imagine LTC will drop again and stagnate until the next bitcoin panic issue. LTC won't ever take over, but will always be there as the emergency backup.
In my opinion, your point is a very good point of view I think. After reading your writing, I decided to buy some litecoin as your post has interested me about the furture of litecoin. Thank you very much for your information which I learn a lot from it!
I like your article a lot my friend but what happens when Bitcoin adopts SegWit? Then Litecoin doesn't look at as appealing.
Perhaps by that time there will be even more useful developments on Litecoin. Hard to say though.
That is true...I think cryptos in general are ALL going up!