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It is an algorithm that is updated based on total network hashing power to ensure that Litecoin blocks are generated on average every 2.5 minutes. The Litecoin mining difficulty is perhaps one of Litecoin’s most important features. This differs from gold, silver and other commodities, which often see mining companies mine at faster rates if price increases. One of the main advantages with cryptocurrencies is that the currency supply can be programmed and distributed at selected intervals. Any attempt to change network rules would create a fork in the blockchain. No old transactions can be erased, and, likewise, no counterfeit or fraud transactions can be created without network consensus. Its public blockchain can be independently verified by anyone. Unlike traditional payment systems like PayPal, Litecoin is decentralized and distributed. The Litecoin blockchain is a public ledger of all Litecoin transactions. The block reward is paid to miners for each block mined, which provides an incentive for miners to contribute their hashing power to the network. The nodes use the miners’ work to continue to verify and transmit transactions across the network.Īs mentioned earlier, Litecoin mining requires vast amounts of time and electricity, which isn’t cheap. If no double-spends are detected, the miners create a block with new transactions and add it to Litecoin’s existing blockchain.Įach new block is then sent to nodes on the network. The miners check incoming transactions against previous transactions on the blockchain. Litecoin miners then verify these transactions through proof-of-work. In order to send litecoins, transactions must be included in a block. So, how does Litecoin mining secure the network? Like Bitcoin mining, Litecoin uses proof-of-work which makes mining a costly process in terms of both time and energy. If you are serious about mining litecoins, one option is to simply mine bitcoins with hardware like the Antminer S7 and convert the earned bitcoins to litecoin.
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The best Litecoin mining hardware available for purchase are graphic cards, but they are not profitable.
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No such miners are available for Litecoin.
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It’s possible, for example, to buy a Bitcoin Antminer S7 ASIC on Amazon for $714. Because Litecoin uses a different proof of work function Bitcoin miners cannot mine litecoins. ASICs-powerful computers designed to solve Bitcoin’s proof of work function-are available for litecoin but difficult to purchase. The Litecoin mining industry is less developed than Bitcoin’s. It serves two main purposes:ġ) It secures the network and verifies transactions.Ģ) New litecoins are paid out as a reward to miners. Litecoin mining is done by specialized computers and hardware.
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