Litecoin (abbreviated as LTC) was developed and launched by computer scientist Charlie Lee in 2011, who was dissatisfied with many of the operational aspects of Bitcoin, which was skyrocketing in popularity at the time.
In particular, Lee took issue with the fact that most of the fastest ways to mine Bitcoin was done with certain computer components that were prohibitively expensive for a large majority of users. Given that accessibility was one of the core tenets of cryptocurrency in the first place, Lee developed a new cryptocurrency in his spare time while working at Google, intending this new coin to be easier to mine on most hardware.
Litecoin would officially become the first major altcoin on the public market after the blockchain's launch in October 2011.
Since it was designed from inception as a better alternative to Bitcoin payments, the main question here is "what makes Litecoin so different?" Believe it or not, the answer is a bit more interesting than you might expect.
From a functional standpoint, *there is virtually no difference between Litecoin and Bitcoin*. Both of them operate on the same basic concept of a network of unique encrypted tokens or 'coins' that are mined and stored on computers owned by the network's users. As we mentioned, though, there are a few differences that set Litecoin apart:
* Litecoin uses Scrypt instead of Bitcoin's SHA-256 cryptographic algorithm, which means most computer hardware can mine Litecoin more easily.
* Litecoin has a higher supply limit of 84 million coins, as opposed to Bitcoin's limit of only 21 million. With more supply, of course, means a generally lower price per coin.
* Litecoin processes a block around every 2 and a half minutes compared to Bitcoin at around 10 minutes, which allows for faster processing of transactions.
To actually use Lite coin as your payment method for Canadian gambling, you will first need to 1) get Litecoin; and 2) register at a Litecoin casino. We’ll break down the process in more detail in the following sections.
You can acquire Litecoin in one of two ways: mining and trading. While mining cryptocurrency is generally still viable today, the process of actually setting up your computer to mine LTC is too complex for the purposes of this article, so we will be focusing on the trading aspect.
Trading LTC is, in essence, no different from trading stocks or foreign currencies. To do this, you will need:
Coinbase is arguably the simplest way to start trading LTC as the firm provides both the cryptocurrency wallet and the trading platform that you will need, all in one place. However, there are dozens of other options that could take a bit more time to explore but are beyond the scope of this article.
Once you have everything set up, converting your CAD to LTC is just a matter of trading. You trade CAD with a broker on a cryptocurrency exchange and voila! You now have Litecoin to use at a litecoin casino.
To use your new cryptocurrency at an online casino, the process is more or less like using any other payment method, which is as follows:
Yes, the process really is that easy. But as with all cryptocurrencies in general, using Litecoin as your preferred payment method at online casinos in Canada does have a few drawbacks that you need to be aware of.
For one, there is the issue of availability. The process of getting Litecoin is one thing, but finding online casinos that accept LTC as a payment method in the first place is a different issue altogether. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is still arguably the most widespread cryptocurrency in the online casino market right now—far more popular than LTC.
That being said, many online casinos that do accept cryptocurrency of any kind are likely to also take LTC and other coins. Be sure to check out our payment methods pages for more details on this, especially as the market continues to grow.
Security is another major concern when it comes to handling cryptocurrency. While all blockchains are meant to be decentralized—and therefore more secure—by design, handling coins properly is still the full responsibility of the users.
If, for instance, you make a mistake in sending LTC to the wrong address, it is almost guaranteed that that amount is lost forever. Cryptocurrency does not yet have any safeguards in place to prevent this from happening, so a very keen eye and triple-checking your transactions are essential to making your cryptocurrency experience smoother.
Finally, there is the issue of value. Like all other cryptocurrencies right now, the value of Litecoin is extremely volatile and is subject to significant fluctuations over the course of a single day—not to mention any major spikes or drops that occur in response to trends and events.
What this means is that you might find it difficult to use Litecoin knowing that, at any moment, the value of LTC could skyrocket up after you’ve deposited it into your casino account, which typically converts that value into its equivalent fiat currency.
The best Litecoin casinos are the ones with fast and reliable payment processing, strong security systems, and fair terms of service to help ensure that your cryptocurrency is handled properly by the casino.
Yes, you can gamble online with Litecoin at online casino sites that accept Litecoin as a payment method.
Yes, Litecoin casinos are legal as long as they meet all of the requirements expected of a legitimate casino site. Every legitimate online casino should, at the very least, have a valid and current license to operate from a reputable casino regulator.
To play casinos with Litecoin, you need to acquire Litecoin and have it in a crypto-wallet, then use the cryptocurrency as your payment method at an online casino that accepts the coin.
To withdraw your Litecoin from a casino site, you need to transfer the coins from your casino account to a cryptocurrency wallet. Alternatively, some casinos may allow you to convert your Litecoin into a fiat currency like Canadian dollars based on a market exchange rate.
One of the reasons why Litecoin is such a fast payment method is because of the blockchain's processing time, which is designed to handle transactions more quickly than Bitcoin.