BITCOIN'S LITTLE BROTHER

What is Litecoin and why is the price going up?

LITECOIN launched in 2011 and is similar to Bitcoin.

We explain everything you need to know about the cryptocurrency and why the price is going up.

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Light by name, not by nature: digital currency Litecoin has soared in value recentlyCredit: Getty - Contributor

Investing in cryptocurrency is VERY risky. It is not a guaranteed way to make money, so you need to make sure you know the risks and can afford to lose any money you invest. 

That's because crypto investments can be extremely volatile meaning your cash will can go down as well as up.

What is Litecoin?

It is a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin.
It was launched in 2011 by former Google engineer Charlie Lee in reaction to Bitcoin.

That means its price is often highly affected by Bitcoin's price.

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 decision to exclude average price data from Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit resulted in a sudden drop in displayed prices.

This sparked panic and confusion amongst investors.

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Is the cryptocurrency as valuable as Bitcoin?

As of March this year, Bitcoin's market cap is $1trillion, while Litecoin's is around $13.7billion.

Litecoin can produce more coins than Bitcoin and its transaction speed is faster, but this doesn't necessarily impact the value or usability of the currency.

But Bitcoin still dominates the market and is the best known cryptocurrency right now - its closest competitor is Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, which has a market cap of nearly $212 billion.

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Dogecoin is another cryptocurrency on the rise but we explain the dangers of buying it since it has gained such fast popularity.

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That's as last month investors were urged to avoid new cryptocurrencies called PooCoin and SafeMoon on the chance they'd lose their cash.

Some are gaining legitimacy though, thanks to mainstream companies like PayPal and Facebook, but we explain the differences between each cryptocurrency for you.

Man named Satoshi Nakamoto denies he is the creator of Bitcoin


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