How to Buy Litecoin (LTC) – A Beginner’s Guide
By: vai de bet:Alexander Reed | Last updated: 3/12/24
Ever since Litecoin was created back in 2011, it was con♒sidered Bitcoin’s popular younger brother. In this guide, I will review the various ways you can buy Litecoiไn online and offline, as well as how to store it.
How to Buy Litecoin Summary
- Get a Litecoin wallet (e.g., Exodus, Ledger, Edge)
- Find an exchange that sells Litecoin (e.g., Coinmama, CEX.io)
- Deposit money and make the trade
- Withdraw the Litecoins to your wallet
- vai de bet:What is Litecoin in a nutshell
- vai de bet:Buying Litecoin in 3 Steps
- vai de bet:Additional methods for buying Litecoin
- vai de bet:Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion – What does the future hold for Litecoin?
1. What is Litecoin in a Nutshell?
Litecoin is a Bitcoin spinoff created by former Google employee Charlie Lee in October 2011. Litecoin has taken the general idea behind Bitcoin, but changed a few key c𝓡omponents:
- The block time is 2.5 minutes on average, versus 10 minutes for Bitcoin.
- The mining algorithm has changed from SHA-256 to Scrypt. This makes mining hardware for Litecoin more complicated and difficult to create.
- The total number of Litecoins available is 84 million, as opposed to Bitcoin’s 21 million.
- Litecoin now has a built-in privacy feature called Mimblewimble, which makes transactions private to outsiders.
To sum it up, if Bitcoin is digital gold, Litecoin is digital silver. It’s faster but also cheaper and more abundant than Bitcoin – and now more private.
2. Buying Litecoin in 3 Steps
Step 1 – Get a Litecoin wallet
Before you go off to buy Litecoin, you will need a wallet to store it in. There arevai de bet: many Litecoin wallets available toꦰday, but in this post I’ll just review the best ones in my opinion.
Litecoin Hardware Wallets
The best option for storing any cryptocurrency would be to use avai de bet: hardware wallet. These are pieces of hardw꧙are that store the private key to your coins offline.
Today, there are two leading hardware manufacturers to choose from – Ledger and TREZOR. Both companies have different models ൩of hardwa൲re wallets that will get the job done.
If you want deeper insights on specific models, you can read myvai de bet: Ledger Nano X review or myvai de bet: TREZOR Model T review.
Litecoin Software Wallets
Hardware wallets cost money, so if you’re not sure how serious ♈you are about cryptocurrencies and just want to get a taste of what they feel like, perhaps you would be better off st🐲arting with a software wallet.
A software wallet is a free program that lets you store your coins on your computer or mo♏bile phone.
The easiest Litecoin software wallets to get started with are undoubtedly Exodus and Edge. Both wallets are very intuitive. Exodus is available on desktop for Windows, Mac and Linux, as well as on mobile for both iOS and Android. Edge on the other hand is only available on mobile, with both iOS and Android apps available. If you want more information you can read myvai de bet: Exodus review or my vai de bet:Edge review.
For a complete explanation about hardware wallets, software wallets and additional types of wallets, make sure to watch our Bitcoin Whiteboard Tuesdayvai de bet: episode about wallets.
Once you have your wallet ready, you will need to locate your Litecoin address. Your Litecoin address is a long string of letters and numbers starting with “L”, “3” or “M”. Here’s an example:
LM2WMpR1Rp6j3Sa59cMXMs1SPzj9eXpGc1
Step 2 – Find an LTC Exchange
As Litecoin becomes more and more popular, thevai de bet: number of cryptocurrency exchanges that sell Litecoin is constantly increasing.
In this section, I’ll focus on the easiest exchanges to get started with, that also supply𓄧 the widest variety of payment methods.
eToro disclaimer: This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency inve🌜sting within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.Buying Litecoin through eToro
Pros: Easy to get started with, va🐻rious payment methods
Cons: Less suited for accessing the actual coins
eToro is a popular and well-🌄established cryptocurrency trading platform that makes it easy for you to invest in Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies for fiat currency (i.e. Dollars, Euros, etc.). In other words, eToro is more targeted towards traders than towards users who are looking to actually own their coins.
Even though you can withdraw or send coins from eToro to other people, this part is difficult to do. Therefore, the platf🅷orm is more suited for price speculation.
On the other hand, it is a super user-friendly platform that offers great customer support and the widest variety of payment metho🍸ds (wire, debit card, Neteller, ﷽and more).
If you use eToro for investment purposes only, you don’t actually need a Litecoin wallet. eToro also allows you tovai de bet: short a certain currency if you think its price will drop.
vai de bet:Visit eToro vai de bet:Read review
eToro disclaimer: This ad promo🐷tes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.Buying Litecoin through Coinmama
Pros: Simple buying process, reliable company
Cons: Relatively high fees
Coinmama allows🐲 you to instantly buy Litecoins with your credit card, debit card or a wire transfer, incl🐬uding SEPA/Swift transfers. They accept users from most countries around the world (but excludes the US states of New York and Hawaii).
The company has been around for a long time (since 2013) and is considered trustworthy. You can readvai de bet: my full Coinmama review here.
Coinmama won’t hold your Litecoins for you, which means you’ll need to make sure you have a Litecoin wallet and address before starting the buying process (as I’ve covered in Step 1).
🌳♒Coins are sent almost instantly once the buying process is completed.
vai de bet:Visit Coinmama vai de bet:Read review
Buying Litecoin through CEX.io
Pros: Low fees on trading platfoওrm, wide variety o⛎f payment methods
Cons: High fees on the brokerage service
CEX 𓄧allows you to buy Litecoin in a fast & secure way, using your crℱedit card, debit card or wire transfer. The site offers two methods for buying Litecoins:
- A brokerage service (the company sells you Litecoins directly) – An easy process at a premium price
- A trading platform (you interact with buyers/sellers from around the world) – A cheaper, but relatively complex process for beginners
Like Coinmama, CEX has been around since 2013 and has gained a very good reputation since. If you’re just starting outꦜ, it will probably be better if you use the brokerage service since it’s simpler than the trading platform.
Keep in mind that the brokerage service fees are arou𓃲nd 7%, while the🌱 trading platform fees start at 0.25% and decrease as your trading volume increases.
If you’re buying a small amount, t🌌hat shouldn’t make that much of a difference and sometimes it’s better to pay a little extra for an easier, faster process🌳.
vai de bet:Visit Cex.io vai de bet:Read reviewBuying Litecoin through Coinbase
Pros: Low fees on ACH/SEPA transfer, established company, supports PayPal &am🌜p; Apple/Google Pay
Cons: Horrible support, not available worldwide
Coinbase lets you buy Litecoins using your debit card, bank account, PayPal, Appl♈e Pay or Google Pay. Coinbase accepts buyers from and the fees on the exchange are rela💜tively low (mainly for ACH transfers inside the US).
The company is well-established and has been selling cryptocurrencies since 2012. On the downside, don’t expect anyone from their support ꦆto answer if you encounter any issues (they have created a name for themselves in that field).
The bottom line for Coinbase is this – if they are supported in your country, they are probably the cheapest and fastest option for buying Litecoin.
vai de bet:Visit Coinbase vai de bet:Read reviewBuying Litecoin through Bitpanda
Pros: Multiple payment meth♊ods supported, relatively low fees
Cons: Not available worldwide
Bitpanda is a cryptocurrency broker that specializes in buying and selling cr꧂yptocurrency ♑within the Eurozone. Bitpanda lets you buy Litecoins using your credit/debit card, Skrill account, SEPA transfer, SOFORT transfer, Giropay/EPS, or Neteller.
The minimum deposit and withdrawal amount at Bitpanda is 10 EUR.The company was founded in late 2014 and has since grown to become one of the more populaᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚr options to purchase cryptocurrency around Euroꦺpe.
vai de bet:Visit Bitpanda vai de bet:Read reviewBuying Litecoin through Bitstamp
Pros: Reputable exchange, relativel🅠y low fees and exchange rate
Cons: Complicated for beginners
Bitstamp is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges out there. Bitstamp allows you to buy Litecoins using a credit/debit card, ACH for US users or SEPA for European customers. Alternatively you 🌄can exchange Bi✤tcoins for Litecoins on the exchange.
Aside from a prett🦩y confusing trading platform, Bitstamp also offers a direct buying service for cryptocurrencies via 🐲credit/debit card, but this comes at a premium.
vai de bet:Visit Bitstamp vai de bet:Read reviewStep 3 – Withdraw Your Litecoin
Once yo🃏u decide on an exchange, open an account and buy your Litecoin.♏ Make sure to withdraw the Litecoin from the exchange to your personal wallet.
Never leave coins on an exchange, as you risk losing them all if that exchange gets hacked or shuts down (which𝕴 has happened in the past).
3. Additional Options for Buying Litecoin
If you already own Bitcoin and wish to exchange it for Litecoin, you can do that on a crypto-to-crypto exchange like Binance. Alternatively, you can alwaysvai de bet: buy Bitcoin and swap it for Litecoin using Binance.
Buying Litecoin with Paypal
PayPal allows users in some countries to purchase Litecoin directly on its platform, as well asꦚ transfer them to a third-party wallet if you’re based in the US. The only other direct option to buy Litecoin with PayPal is through Coinbase, but once again,✨ this is only available to US users.
However, if you live outside the US and you want to actually hold your coins, you’ll most likely need tovai de bet: buy Bitcoins with PayPal and then exchange them for Litecoins on a crypto-to-crypto exchange like Binance orvai de bet: Changelly.
Important: Buying cryptocurrencies with PayPal usually includes A LOT of fees. Make sure you’re aware of all of the fees 🍒beforehan🌠d, so you won’t be surprised.
Buying Litecoin without ID or verification
Since Litecoin isn’t as popular a payment method as Bitcoin is, it’s hard to find a credible way to buy it without any verification. The best way to buy Litecoin anonymously would be tovai de bet: buy Bitcoins anonymously and then trade those Bitcoins for Litecoins on Binance or vai de bet:Changelly with a disposable email.
4. Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Litecoins are Left to Mine?
As of J♓uly 20 2022, 70,762,495 Litecoins have been mined. This means that there are just over 13 million Litecoins left to mine.
Can you Mine Litecoin?
Yes.vai de bet: Litecoin mining is used in order to update the ledger of Litecoin transactions, Just likevai de bet: Bitcoin Mining. Litecoins can be mined withvai de bet: specific Litecoin mining hardware.
5. Conclusion – Is Litecoin a Good Investment?
Throughout the years, Litecoin has proved itself to be a coin that’s here to stay with a strong communityꦑ and development team behind it.
The question of “will it play a role in the future monetary syste🍸m?” is still unanswered, but for now Litecoin remains close to Bitcoin, following it in its ups and downs.
H🏅ave you found any other interesting ways to purchase Litecoins? If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.
How to save Litecoins. I have ( had ??) 40 litecoins in my Litecoin core wallet. Never seen a warning for saving the wallet besides a password. Suggestion: save with a wallet password because you loose all of your coins after a crash, etc. Also the possibility to save the wallet on your computer, I thought if i have the password I can’t loose my coins. However I did a recover install of my Windows X and after that I lost my wallets only wallets from Litecoin Core) I thought I have my password so i installed the new version of the core wallet did the password thing, but not any coin in it! I read that the new versions weren’t compatible with the old versions so I installed an old version and did the password thing but again no coins in it. What have I to do to get my coins again?? I need the saved wallet.dat-file but can’t find the good one and there was not any warning that you will loose the coins if you do not have a saved wallet. Only for the password?! Just like the way with hotmail.com ( need only a password to get your old mails again!)
Anyone a s🧔uggestion how to get my coins back ?? I can download all the old versions if necessary🎀. Thanx
Hello Alexander. Again thank you for a great website!! It is well set up and you explain things in a way that old “clueless crypto” (myself) even understands.
Alexander, do you think I should further invest some money in BTC, LTC and ETH? Would you at this stage? Sorry for asking so bluntly but I would really like to hear your comments on investing in these 3 well established crypto’s.
Thanks again for all the lessons and info
Ronnie
I bought a Trezor wallet and bought Litecoin from Coinbase. The problem is I can’t transfer my Litecoin to my Trezor wallet. Coinbase tells me they cannot transfer Litecoin to a Trezor wallet. Any suggestions. Can I transfer to an Electrum wallet and then to my Trezor wallet?
Can you send an answer to my email?
Good advice in here but some are a bit complicated for beginners. I used coinbase app which was simple minus the initial wait of the deposit to hit the account. Graduated to Gdax for very low to no fees, same account owned by Coinbase so you use the same log in on your computer. Then the best next step for me was using Binance exchange.
**affiliate link removed**Glad I did, it was very easy to use and transfer my coins to start trading other coins and fees are low as well. I leave my coins on the exchange for months now and no issues. Soon when I have a larger amount, I will order the Ledger nano S to store my coins that I don’t need to trade with frequently and leave them for the long term on the hard wallet.
Here is the link to Binance for fast sign up an❀d I believe they still give you half off fees when you sign up here. Good lucꦬk!
Hello,
I’m green also. I’d like to buy Litecoin (LTC)and put them on a ‘cold storage’ wallet card. I’m thinking of buying the card from: cryptocoinwalletcards.com. Are they good? Once I receive the card how do I deposit, say $1000? Once the USD are on the card, how do I purchase the LTC? When I sell the LTC, how does my USD come back to me?
Thank you and Happy Holidays
//jogoaoviv♏o88.com/create-99-9-secure-bitcoin-paper-wallet/
Note: getting a hardware wallet (they work for Litecoin) will cost a little more but is a much easier and better-docoumented process with fewer surprises.