A recap of 2018 —What has Litecoin achieved this year and what’s its next plans?

Litecoin

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Jan 1, 2019

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2018 has been a very eventful year for cryptocurrency; we’ve seen the market sentiment reach all-time highs to witnessing it drop back down again (often quite drastically); but despite some misinformed media coverage, the cryptocurrency ecosystem has still continued to strengthen and foster great technological advancements.

For Litecoin, 2018 has been a very important year — we’ve seen major progress in its adoption and utility as a peer-to-peer electronic cash payment system. In fact, the number of merchant processors, merchants and businesses adopting Litecoin payments have grown significantly in 2018. The fact that Litecoin has continued to grow its adoption despite its fall back of price from its all-time highs last year clearly shows that price, which is valuated at $31.59, is currently lagging behind its adoption rate. Once the market prices catches up with this, coins like Litecoin will continue to thrive in the long term.

In fact, Litecoin is one of the oldest coins in the cryptocurrency industry, with its inception dating as far back as October 2011. Yet, for over 7 years Litecoin has consistently remained a top five mineable coin. This is due to Litecoin’s clear vision and focus on becoming the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold” and acting as a compliment currency to Bitcoin. Moreover, the Litecoin community understands the importance of working together alongside Bitcoin and pushing for interoperability to enable a free and fast moving mutli-coined society where value can be transferred amongst many different assets (and in some cases at the same time). The future of cryptocurrency will have many types of coins and tokens co-existing with each other and Litecoin aims to provide the first stepping stones into this new world movement.

In addition, Litecoin’s network infrastructure has continued to grow exponentially year on year — with the help of its strong community, developers and foundation members who continue to push the currency mainstream. As a result of the combined effort, Litecoin currently dominates the Scrypt Mining segment with over 95% market share and is also one of the most liquid coins in the market — having been listed on major exchanges as Bitcoin and Ethereum. It’s also one of the most popular traded coins in the market with volumes growing year on year. Moreover, Litecoin is also one of the most reliable and secure cryptocurrencies in this space as it’s been running constantly with no downtime; without double spending, irreversible transactions or malicious 51% attacks to its network.

Over the past 7+ years, the market knowledge, awareness and connections that Litecoin has built puts it at an advantage as this type of experience is highly invaluable, difficult to imitate and is extremely rate. These qualities enables Litecoin to sustain its competitive advantage and make highly efficient and effective decision makings when moving forward. In fact, this is shown in the milestones that Litecoin has achieved in 2018 alone.

Here are just some of highlights:

January

• Jan 17th: Coincards announces Litecoin support.
• Jan 22nd: Charlie Lee attends Sanford Bitcoin Meetup.
• Jan 25th: Zebpay announces Litecoin trading.
• Jan 27th: Charlie Lee attends Blockchain Connect Conference.
• Jan 30th: LITE LIFE magazine launches to cover all Litecoin topics.

February

• Feb 1st: Charlie Lee talks on MagicalCrypto Podcast.
• Feb 1st: CoinJar announces Litecoin support.
• Feb 1st: Unocoin announces Litecoin support soon.
• Feb 2nd: Charlie Lee talks at Blockchain Con.
• Feb 6th: Aliant Payments announces Litecoin support.
• Feb 8th: Litecoin Core 0.15.1 RC1 released.
• Feb 14th: Coinbase Commerce launches with Litecoin payment.
• Feb 15th: Litecoin Foundation launches ‘Understanding Litecoin’ Book.
• Feb 15th: Edge Wallet supports Litecoin SegWit.
• Feb 16th: Octanox adds Litecoin trading.
• Feb 19th: Charlie Lee talks in MagicalCrypto Podcast.
• Feb 26th: BitOasis announces Litecoin trading.
• Feb 28th: Bitbns announces Litecoin trading.
• Feb 28th: Likke Exchange lists Litecoin.

March

• Mar 2nd: Litecoin Core 0.15.1 released.
• Mar 2nd: Charlie Lee interview with The Top.
• Mar 4th: Charlie Lee talks in Doug Polk Podcast.
• Mar 5th: Litecoin listed on Cointelegram’s Price Index.
• Mar 6th: Greyscale adds Litecoin trust.
• Mar 11th: Charlie Lee attends Syndey Meetup.
• Mar 15th: Litecoin released on Lightning Network Beta.
• Mar 16th: Charlie Lee talks on NuggetsNews.
• Mar 20th: Charlie Lee features on MagicalCrypto Podcast.
• Mar 21st: BTCPay launched Litecoin Lighting integration.
• Mar 24th: Litecoin LoafWallet 2.0.5 release.

April

• April 5th: Charlie Lee talks on BitcoinErrorBlog.
• April 5th: Aliant Payments announces Official Litecoin Payment Processor.
• April 5th: Coinut announces Litecoin SGD pairs.
• April 10th: eGifter accepts Litecoin Payments.
• April 11th: TenX announcing Litecoin card payments soon.
• April 12th: Litecoin Core announces plans for Smart Contracts.
• April 13th: Charlie Lee talks on MagicalCrypto Podcast.
• April 21st: Korbit accepts Litecoin trading.
• April 22nd: $99M in Litecoin transacted costing only $0.40 in fees.
• April 23rd: Coinbase announces Bitcoin Shift card (which also works with Litecoin).
• April 23rd: Charlie Lee talks on BadCrypto Podcast.
• April 25th: Wirex announces Litecoin support.
• April 25th: Charlie Lee joins DMG advisory board.
• April 25th: Wikileaks Shop accepts Litecoin payment.
• April 27th: Charlie Lee speaks on TenX interview.
• April 27th: Coin Payments announces Litecoin support.

May

• May 3rd: Reddit announces Litecoin support.
• May 14th: Gemini announces Litecoin trading soon.
• May 15th: Charlie Lee talks on Coindesk Live.
• May 15th: Charlie Lee talks on Magical Crypto Podcast.
• May 17th: Sportsbook.com accepts Litecoin payments.
• May 17th: Charlie Lee attends Consensus 2018.
• May 17th: Coinbase’s Toshi App will add LTC trading.
• May 18th: Blocknet & Komodo DEX’s add LTC trading.
• May 18th: Openbazaar now allows P2P LTC trading.
• May 18th: Charlie Lee interviewed on Crypto Collectors.
• May 21st: Abra announces Litecoin support.
• May 22nd: CheapAir announces Litecoin Payments.
• May 26th: NASDAQ announces Litecoin support.
• May 30th: Tapjets accepts Litecoin Payments.
• May 31st: Litecoin Core 0.16 released.
• May 31st: VRPorn.com accepts Litecoin payments.

June

• June 3rd: Litecoin Core 0.16 released.
• June 11th: Surf Air announces Litecoin payments.
• June 14th: Itbit announces Litecoin to be traded.
• June 18th: FreedomofPress accepting Litecoin donations.
• June 20th: British Crypto Exchange announces Litecoin trading.
• June 20th: Charlie Lee meeting Taiwan Congressman.
• June 21st: FXChoice adds Litecoin trading.
• June 21st: Federal Reserve bank of St. Louise adds Litecoin.

July

• July 1st: Charlie Lee attends Asia Blockchain Summit.
• July 11th: Litecoin Foundation acquires 9.9% stake in German Bank.
• July 12th: Charlie Lee talks on Cheddar.com.
• July 12th: Robinhood adds Litecoin trading.
• July 18th: Cointelegraph Interview with Charlie Lee.
• July 19th: Bitrefill announces Amazon gift-card purchases with Litecoin.
• July 25th: Skrill announces Litecoin trading.
• July 30th: Charlie Lee becomes Advisor for HTC Exodus.

August

• Aug 1st: Litecoin added to MCO Wallet App.
• Aug 2nd: Charlie Lee speaks at BREAKER Podcast.
• Aug 3rd: Litecoin Core 0.16.2 RC1 released.
• Aug 15th: Litecoin can now be purchased with credit card on EdgeWallet.
• Aug 27th: Charlie Lee goes on CNBC Fast Money.
• Aug 29th: Charlie Lee creates community poll regarding Fungibility.
• Aug 29th: Yahoo Finance launches Litecoin trade.
• Aug 31st: Charlie Lee talks in Dashcast Podcast.

September:

• Sept 3th: Charlie Lee talks in Blockfuse Pitch Night chat.
• Sept 4th: Casa announces Litecoin support.
• Sept 5th: Litecoin.com redesign.
• Sept 6th: Charlie Lee talks in Boost VC Postcast.
• Sept 7th: Litecoin usage of SegWit overtakes Bitcoin.
• Sept 8th: Litecoin Core 0.16.2 launched.
• Sept 11th: Fireside chat with Charlie Lee.
• Sept 12th: Bittrex announces Litecoin USD pairs.
• Sept 13th: Litecoin implemented in LibbitCoin.
• Sept 14th: Litecoin Summit 2018.
• Sept 15th: Litecoin can now be sent over SMS.
• Sept 16th: Charlie Lee on BadCrypto Podcast.
• Sept 17th: FutureBit Launch their New Lineup of Litecoin Scrypt Miners.
• Sept 19th: 1M+ Merchants can accept Litecoin via Clover POS.
• Sept 20th: Litecoin Core 0.16.3 launched.
• Sept 20th: Bitnova announces Litecoin Card Payments.
• Sep 26th: Litecoin LN support added to $130 RaspiBlitz Node.
• Sep 27th: Tour de Crypto announces Litecoin Community Support.
• Sep 29th: Libbitcoin Launches Litecoin Full Node Support.

October

• Oct 2nd: Charlie Lee’s keynote speech on the Blockchain cruise.
• Oct 4th: SALT announces Litecoin as collateral.
• Oct 5th: Soulja Boy releases Bitcoin Song (also includes Litecoin in lyrics).
• Oct 9th: Charlie Lee interviewed by SFOX.
• Oct 11th: Charlie Lee creates community poll regarding UXTO.
• Oct 12th: Winklevoss twins’ adds support for Litecoin.
• Oct 13th: Litecoin’s 7th Birthday.
• Oct 13th: Gemini opens trading with Litecoin.
• Oct 19th: Litecoin announces 10x fee cut in next core release.
• Oct 23rd: Charlie Lee attends Money 20/20 Conference.
• Oct 30th: 1Ml adding Litecoin Support.
• Oct 30th: CoinGate accredited as official LTC Foundation Payment.
• Oct 30th: Charlie Lee interviewed for a Documentary.
• Oct 31st: CoolWallet S can now accept Litecoin Payments (through CoinGate).
• Oct 31st: Lite.IM launched — Pay with Litecoin on Facebook.
• Oct 31st: Charlie Lee attends World CryptoCon.

November:

• Nov 6th: Next Generation Air accepting LTC as payments.
• Nov 6th: Litecoin Foundation on Delta Direct.
• Nov 13th: Surf Air accepting LTC for Express Membership.
• Nov 13th: Franklyn Interview with Jornal Económico.
• Nov 13th: New Scrypt Miners coming to the Market.
• Nov 15th: Litecoin Brand Style guide.
• Nov 16th: Litecoin LoafWallet Upgrade.
• Nov 17th: Franklyn Interview with CCN.
• Nov 27th: Charlie Lee announces attendance to SlushHQ.
• Nov 30th: Gofast announces Litecoin Support.
• Nov 30th: Litecoin Core announces LND 0.5.1 Beta release.

December:

• Dec 3rd: $1.1Bn Transacted on the Litecoin Network in a single day.
• Dec 4th: Franklyn speaks at WebSummit.
• Dec 6th: HTC announces HTC Exodus phone/pay with LTC.
• Dec 7th: Charlie Lee meets Ben Askren (UFC Fighter).
• Dec 8th: Litecoin is on BitUniverse.
• Dec 11th: Charlie Lee announced as Speaker at the TOKEN2049.
• Dec 12th: LTC Foundation partners with CryptoInvest.
• Dec 12th: Franklyn talks at TokenBox.
• Dec 13th: CoinGate 1000+ Merchants with Lightning.
• Dec 13th: Litecoin Foundation is now on Blockfolio Signal.
• Dec 14th: Flappening: Litecoin overtakes Bitcoin Cash & Bitcoin SV.
• Dec 16th: Travala launches Litecoin support.
• Dec 19th: Coinbase transferred 25% of Litecoin in circulation to more secure cold storage.
• Dec 20th: Litecoin collaboration with X9 developers and XSN to enable Litecoin support on Neutrino.
• Dec 21st: First Zap Desktop released with Litecoin support.
• Dec 26th: CryptoInsider Interview with Charlie Lee.
• Dec 26th: Litecoin Foundation sponsors UFC 232.

In summary, the year 2018 has seen been very successful in our attempts to drive Litecoin adoption. From becoming one of the first cryptocurrencies to adopt Segregated Witness (SegWit) and Lightning Network (LN); to Gemini, Abra and Robinhood listing Litecoin making it the third cryptocurrency to be listed on all major exchanges; to businesses such as Surf Air, HTC, Wikileaks and VRPorn adding support for Litecoin payments — Litecoin continues to exceed expectations within this industry as it continues to push for more adoption and grows its recognition globally.

What to expect in 2019 and beyond

The focus going into 2019 is to continue driving adoption. In terms of developments, we are aiming to grow the Lightning Network on Litecoin and incorporate Atomic Swaps as well as Privacy features. In some cases, we’ve already seen progress made in these specific areas.

The Lightning Network allows transactions to be validated off-chain instantly at very minimal costs, which enables Litecoin to scale at much bigger capacity and improve its user experience. In addition, the use of Atomic Swaps will aim to enable the ability to swap two coins instantly and act as a way of transferring value between currencies, improving interoperability. The idea of Fungibility is also being discussed — an opt-in feature that enables people to make confidential transactions and give people more control over the information that is broadcasted on the network. All these different development plans aim to make the user design and user experience of payments more user friendly and will start to flourish going into 2019.

In the long term, the Litecoin Foundation will be utilizing its stake in the German bank WEG to work on and build innovation solutions in the financial sector —services to do with remittance, lending and microfinance. We’re also looking to cover more merchant adoption across e-commerce globally and continue pushing for mass adoption in other parts of the sector, including sports, media, fashion and entertainment. We want people to pay confidently and easily with Litecoin knowing that they have full control over the information they are broadcasting in transactions.

The more control we give back to the people, the better our society will become.

By following Bitcoin’s developments; as well as diversifying into different segments of the market; and adding different functionalities such as confidential transactions; Litecoin aims to provide a cryptocurrency that compliments Bitcoin’s store of value proposition as well as differentiating itself as an efficient and effective financial payment solution to anyone everywhere around the world.