After the big bang of the cryptocurrency revolution, the universe of alternative coins began with the launch of the Litecoin project. Litecoin (LTC) was created in 2011 by Charlie Lee [1], a software engineer working at Coinbase, who was able to fork the code behind Bitcoin (BTC). LTC is a decentralized, peer-to-peer virtual currency that borrows from the same proof-of-stake blockchain verification underlying Bitcoin. But instead of using Bitcoin’s SHA-256d algorithm, LTC adopted the scrypt [2] algorithm, which offers additional support for the use of GPUs in the mining process. The scrypt algorithm also makes it costly to perform hardware attacks on the encryption by requiring large amounts of memory.
The day of its launch saw LTC priced at about $0.30. Over the course of the past decade, its pricing has gone from around $40 to $410. During 2023, LTC fell anywhere between $60 and $100, and the price was at about $90 at the time of this article. The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (USCFTC) recently declared LTC a commodity [3], which is a giant step along the path of legitimacy and acceptance [4].
Choose Your Pool
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MADDOG'S DOGHOUSE
The stakeholder approach of open source broadens the pool of who can access, influence, and benefit from information technologies.
MakerSpace
Rust, a potential successor to C/C++, claims to solve some memory safety issues while maintaining high performance. We look at Rust on embedded systems, where memory safety, concurrency, and security are equally important
In Harmony
Using the Go Interface mechanism, Mike demonstrates its practical application with a refresh program for local copies of Git repositories.
Monkey Business
Even small changes in a web page can improve the browsing experience. Your preferred web browser provides all the tools you need to inject JavaScript to adapt the page. You just need a browser with its debugging tools, some knowledge of scripting, and the browser extension Tampermonkey.
Smarter Navigation
Zoxide, a modern version of cd, lets you navigate long directory paths with less typing.
Through the Back Door
Cybercriminals are increasingly discovering Linux and adapting malware previously designed for Windows systems. We take you inside the Linux version of a famous Windows ransomware tool.
Page Pulse
Do you want to be alerted when a product is back in stock on your favorite online store? Do you want to know when a website without an RSS feed gets an update? With changedetection.io, you can stay up-to-date on website changes.
Arco Linux
ArcoLinux, an Arch derivative, offers easier installs while educating users about Arch Linux along the way.
Ghost Coder
Artificial intelligence is increasingly supporting programmers in their daily work. How effective are these tools? What are the dangers? And how can you benefit from Al-assisted development today?
Zack's Kernel News
Chronicler Zack Brown reports on the latest news, views, dilemmas, and developments within the Linux kernel community.
