https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/ltc-litecoin-core-development-fundraising-215773
Please see the Litecoin Core Development Fundraiser Thread.
Topic: What is the point of Litecoin if Bitcoin is THE cryptocurrency? (Read 8147 times)
The "silver" thing is just marketing fluff. The reality is Litecoin is #2. I don't exactly know how it became #2, but I have one theory. The one thing Litecoin does better than Bitcoin is keep storage and memory overhead low due to its strong anti-spam protections. We are now working on modernizing the Litecoin client to match bitcoin-0.8.2, with lower fees and exciting changes coming in subsequent releases.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/ltc-litecoin-core-development-fundraising-215773
Please see the Litecoin Core Development Fundraiser Thread.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/ltc-litecoin-core-development-fundraising-215773
Please see the Litecoin Core Development Fundraiser Thread.
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The second thing is the confirmation speed. The 10 minute block idea was designed because it was a reasonable tradeoff between speed and network security. The 2.5 minute block is not some genius twist, it's just sacrificing security for speed. You could make transactions confirm in 1 second if you want to, but there's a reason why nobody does that.
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Nope The second thing is the confirmation speed. The 10 minute block idea was designed because it was a reasonable tradeoff between speed and network security. The 2.5 minute block is not some genius twist, it's just sacrificing security for speed. You could make transactions confirm in 1 second if you want to, but there's a reason why nobody does that.
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First of all, the gold-silver analogy is completely pointless. You see, the thing is we have only so much metals in the universe, while we can have an infinite amount of *coins. You don't see 5 new metals popping up every day, but you do see daily influx of new crapcoins. The only good thing is they're mostly pump and dumps, and they soon die out. If every one of them got accepted, we'd already have hyperinflation and they'd all be worthless.
The second thing is the confirmation speed. The 10 minute block idea was designed because it was a reasonable tradeoff between speed and network security. The 2.5 minute block is not some genius twist, it's just sacrificing security for speed. You could make transactions confirm in 1 second if you want to, but there's a reason why nobody does that.
Third, even though scrypt is ASIC resistant, it's not ASIC immune. People used to think it was GPU immune, and it turns out it wasn't. Now, while it is reasonable to assume that a potential litecoin ASIC will not have such a performance gap over a GPU as a bitcoin ASIC, the diminishing returns and cost of electricity will still make GPU's obsolete.
Finally, mining consolidation will happen one way or another. The talk about standard hardware being available to anybody while ASIC's are an extremely difficult to get commodity is incorrect. To earn any serious money, you have to invest heavily into top-notch GPU's. An average BFL ASIC isn't that much more expensive than a top range GPU, but it does bring in more money. To effectively mine litecoins will soon actually cost more in hardware than to effectively mine bitcoins.
The second thing is the confirmation speed. The 10 minute block idea was designed because it was a reasonable tradeoff between speed and network security. The 2.5 minute block is not some genius twist, it's just sacrificing security for speed. You could make transactions confirm in 1 second if you want to, but there's a reason why nobody does that.
Third, even though scrypt is ASIC resistant, it's not ASIC immune. People used to think it was GPU immune, and it turns out it wasn't. Now, while it is reasonable to assume that a potential litecoin ASIC will not have such a performance gap over a GPU as a bitcoin ASIC, the diminishing returns and cost of electricity will still make GPU's obsolete.
Finally, mining consolidation will happen one way or another. The talk about standard hardware being available to anybody while ASIC's are an extremely difficult to get commodity is incorrect. To earn any serious money, you have to invest heavily into top-notch GPU's. An average BFL ASIC isn't that much more expensive than a top range GPU, but it does bring in more money. To effectively mine litecoins will soon actually cost more in hardware than to effectively mine bitcoins.
You missed the important point that you need to have something to buy it with that you can acquire ...
Would it make sense if you has US $ and needed CN RMB and bought FR Francs to do that?
Would it make sense if you has US $ and needed CN RMB and bought FR Francs to do that?
I suspect that that explains altcoins in general.
We want something we think the person who has the bitcoins might be tempted by.
So we look at the nature of what he is known to like. Bitcoins. Is there anything similar?
If not, well, how does he even get them? Where do they come from?
Ahhh, he hashes them up with his computer.
Okay then, our prospective customer likes things hashed up by computers.
Maybe we can hash something up that we can tempt him with?
Etc.
Similar with gold. Where did he get it? Is there something similar we can get from some similar source?
-MarkM-
I don't have any Litecoins, but I am starting to see how they are an improvement to bitcoin.
Bitcoin seems to be advancing rapidly into an arms race of specialized chipsets that make previous models obsolete in less then a year (as in not competitive on the hash/energy rate)
This means that miners will have to be more and more capable of taking on large risk and larger capital expenses, which is forcing the small guys out, and forcing all miners into pools.
The result of this is that the political power over the blockchain is being concentrated into fewer and fewer hands.
This is bad.
Bad to the point of eventually all power will be in the hands of a few very rich people, and they will be able to lead the rest of the community by the nose.
With litecoins, it is still within everyone's reach to independently mine, and when you mine, even if you have less fancy equipment, the energy you put into hashing will be about the same as the bigger guy along a fairly linear measure.
This is great news, because trying to change the direction of the currency would go up against a much larger population of miners that will need to be convinced.
Take a look at http://blockchain.info/ and see how few pools there are that write all of the blocks. This is a lot of power in a few hands, and that is dangerous.
Bitcoin seems to be advancing rapidly into an arms race of specialized chipsets that make previous models obsolete in less then a year (as in not competitive on the hash/energy rate)
This means that miners will have to be more and more capable of taking on large risk and larger capital expenses, which is forcing the small guys out, and forcing all miners into pools.
The result of this is that the political power over the blockchain is being concentrated into fewer and fewer hands.
This is bad.
Bad to the point of eventually all power will be in the hands of a few very rich people, and they will be able to lead the rest of the community by the nose.
With litecoins, it is still within everyone's reach to independently mine, and when you mine, even if you have less fancy equipment, the energy you put into hashing will be about the same as the bigger guy along a fairly linear measure.
This is great news, because trying to change the direction of the currency would go up against a much larger population of miners that will need to be convinced.
Take a look at http://blockchain.info/ and see how few pools there are that write all of the blocks. This is a lot of power in a few hands, and that is dangerous.
You missed the important point that you need to have something to buy it with that you can acquire ...
Would it make sense if you has US $ and needed CN RMB and bought FR Francs to do that?
Would it make sense if you has US $ and needed CN RMB and bought FR Francs to do that?
I cannot buy gold using gold as my thing with which I do my purchasing.
What I buy and what I use to buy it with usually in general need to be different.
I cannot buy dollars with dollars.
So, if I am interested at all in dollars, I need something other than dollars to buy dollars with.
Euros, Yen, Francs, anything that is not the same dollars I want to buy.
Same with bitcoins and litecoins. To buy bitcoins I need something other than bitcoins.
Litecoins are particularly suitable because they have similar means of transmission, can be handled using similar tools and so on.
Using litecoins to buy bitcoins sure beats trying to use fiat to do so!
Maybe it was similar with silver and gold. If you wanted to buy some gold you needed something other than gold.
So the search was on to find something that is not gold but which people who like gold, and have gold, might find tempting enough that they might be willing to sell some gold for it...
-MarkM-
What I buy and what I use to buy it with usually in general need to be different.
I cannot buy dollars with dollars.
So, if I am interested at all in dollars, I need something other than dollars to buy dollars with.
Euros, Yen, Francs, anything that is not the same dollars I want to buy.
Same with bitcoins and litecoins. To buy bitcoins I need something other than bitcoins.
Litecoins are particularly suitable because they have similar means of transmission, can be handled using similar tools and so on.
Using litecoins to buy bitcoins sure beats trying to use fiat to do so!
Maybe it was similar with silver and gold. If you wanted to buy some gold you needed something other than gold.
So the search was on to find something that is not gold but which people who like gold, and have gold, might find tempting enough that they might be willing to sell some gold for it...
-MarkM-
Taking it away from technical considerations and on to tangible commodities, can the same thing be said of silver?
"Why is there a point to silver if gold turns out to be THE precious metal?", would sound like a strange question to ask.
For me, Litecoin is to Bitcoin as silver is to gold.
"Why is there a point to silver if gold turns out to be THE precious metal?", would sound like a strange question to ask.
For me, Litecoin is to Bitcoin as silver is to gold.
Gold and silver have different properties and uses that make them desirable in their own way.
i.e If I have gold, I might require silver to do something I can't do with gold.
BUT if I have bitcoin, what would I require litecoin to do?
Lets change tack a little here, change emphasis, change "subject" as in who is the principle.
If you have bitcoin, what would I require something that I have to do?
Well for starters, I might require it to be useful in convincing you to give me some of your bitcoin!
Similarly if I have bitcoin, what would you require something that you have to do?
Aren't you the slightest little bit interested in obtaining some of this stuff that I have, this "bitcoin" stuff?
Or are you proposing that everyone buy bitcoin with bitcoin rather than coming up with some other thing they can do or sell in order to obtain some bitcoin?
-MarkM-
I don't know is english is your first language, but that was very hard to read and it didn't really make sense.
I'm a supporter of litecoin, I'm simply saying that the gold and silver analogy is rubbish.
Taking it away from technical considerations and on to tangible commodities, can the same thing be said of silver?
"Why is there a point to silver if gold turns out to be THE precious metal?", would sound like a strange question to ask.
For me, Litecoin is to Bitcoin as silver is to gold.
"Why is there a point to silver if gold turns out to be THE precious metal?", would sound like a strange question to ask.
For me, Litecoin is to Bitcoin as silver is to gold.
Gold and silver have different properties and uses that make them desirable in their own way.
i.e If I have gold, I might require silver to do something I can't do with gold.
BUT if I have bitcoin, what would I require litecoin to do?
Lets change tack a little here, change emphasis, change "subject" as in who is the principle.
If you have bitcoin, what would I require something that I have to do?
Well for starters, I might require it to be useful in convincing you to give me some of your bitcoin!
Similarly if I have bitcoin, what would you require something that you have to do?
Aren't you the slightest little bit interested in obtaining some of this stuff that I have, this "bitcoin" stuff?
Or are you proposing that everyone buy bitcoin with bitcoin rather than coming up with some other thing they can do or sell in order to obtain some bitcoin?
-MarkM-
Taking it away from technical considerations and on to tangible commodities, can the same thing be said of silver?
"Why is there a point to silver if gold turns out to be THE precious metal?", would sound like a strange question to ask.
For me, Litecoin is to Bitcoin as silver is to gold.
"Why is there a point to silver if gold turns out to be THE precious metal?", would sound like a strange question to ask.
For me, Litecoin is to Bitcoin as silver is to gold.
Gold and silver have different properties and uses that make them desirable in their own way.
i.e If I have gold, I might require silver to do something I can't do with gold.
BUT if I have bitcoin, what would I require litecoin to do?
Has there been any litecoin updates?
Time will prove if coins remain or not.
Only if you don't believe in Bitcoin, you open topics like this one.
Only if you don't believe in Bitcoin, you open topics like this one.
The coin envy in this thread is outrageous.
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People are fighting Internet Explorer-Netscape Navigator wars here
Fully agree with your post!
Fuck you! NCSA Mosaic 4 eva!
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I believe the true nature of the original Bitcoin software was an "experiment" right? The experiment seems to be very successful, as it has not only created a currency worth $90+ USD per Bitcoin currently, but it has also spawned a whole subset of emerging alternative cryptocurrencies on top of that. Why don't we all just sit back, enjoy the damn ride already, and PLEASE quit whining about who's coin(dick) is the biggest. Who is to say that Bitcoin will be the first and the last successful cryptocurrency? That would be a very narrow-minded viewpoint, especially coming from technically savvy individuals.
Long live all cryptocurrencies and the freedom to choose which one you want to use!
I believe the true nature of the original Bitcoin software was an "experiment" right? The experiment seems to be very successful, as it has not only created a currency worth $90+ USD per Bitcoin currently, but it has also spawned a whole subset of emerging alternative cryptocurrencies on top of that. Why don't we all just sit back, enjoy the damn ride already, and PLEASE quit whining about who's coin(dick) is the biggest. Who is to say that Bitcoin will be the first and the last successful cryptocurrency? That would be a very narrow-minded viewpoint, especially coming from technically savvy individuals.
Long live all cryptocurrencies and the freedom to choose which one you want to use!
Speaking of "experiment", it's not always about technical innovation. p2p crypotcurrency is such a revolutionary idea, there are many other aspects need to be tested as well. For instance, in coin generation (a.k.a money creation) process, there are 3 models being used:
1. Ripple -- 100% centralized
2. Bitcoin -- increasing moving toward capital-intensive, wealthy miners
3. Litecoin -- mostly smaller, non-dedicated mining participants.
I guess a few years from now, we'll know which model works best, this is an experiment demonstrating the (non)importance of the perceived "fairness" of mining process in people's minds, and how it will affect a cryptocurrency's adoption.
Changing sha256 to scrypt may not be that innovative; but to answer the above question, it can only be known by real-world "experiment".
Yes, people need to keep their minds (and eyes) open.
Litecoin will be updated to 0.8.1 soon. Like wtogami said, I had originally planned to stay 1 major version behind Bitcoin so that we don't get bit by a bad release. But as it turned out, the 0.8 hard fork just made it clear that there was an issue with old releases that could cause a hard fork even without 0.8. So wtogami and pooler will be helping me with rebasing the Litecoin code to 0.8.1. I do want to wait til May 15 to make sure that Bitcoin is able to handle the potential hard fork. Since the Litecoin community is much smaller, we should have even less of a problem. But it's better to be safe.
Um ... isn't current = pre release 0.7.0? ... 
Litecoin will be updated to 0.8.1 soon. Like wtogami said, I had originally planned to stay 1 major version behind Bitcoin so that we don't get bit by a bad release. But as it turned out, the 0.8 hard fork just made it clear that there was an issue with old releases that could cause a hard fork even without 0.8. So wtogami and pooler will be helping me with rebasing the Litecoin code to 0.8.1. I do want to wait til May 15 to make sure that Bitcoin is able to handle the potential hard fork. Since the Litecoin community is much smaller, we should have even less of a problem. But it's better to be safe.
Very nice. Thanks for the update.
I hear 0.8 and 0.8.1 are faster then 0.7.2 and nicer on your hard drive is this true and if so how much faster is it when you sync the whole blockchain?
Litecoin will be updated to 0.8.1 soon. Like wtogami said, I had originally planned to stay 1 major version behind Bitcoin so that we don't get bit by a bad release. But as it turned out, the 0.8 hard fork just made it clear that there was an issue with old releases that could cause a hard fork even without 0.8. So wtogami and pooler will be helping me with rebasing the Litecoin code to 0.8.1. I do want to wait til May 15 to make sure that Bitcoin is able to handle the potential hard fork. Since the Litecoin community is much smaller, we should have even less of a problem. But it's better to be safe.
Grats!! So glad to hear this
Litecoin will be updated to 0.8.1 soon. Like wtogami said, I had originally planned to stay 1 major version behind Bitcoin so that we don't get bit by a bad release. But as it turned out, the 0.8 hard fork just made it clear that there was an issue with old releases that could cause a hard fork even without 0.8. So wtogami and pooler will be helping me with rebasing the Litecoin code to 0.8.1. I do want to wait til May 15 to make sure that Bitcoin is able to handle the potential hard fork. Since the Litecoin community is much smaller, we should have even less of a problem. But it's better to be safe.
Nice one.
Litecoin will be updated to 0.8.1 soon. Like wtogami said, I had originally planned to stay 1 major version behind Bitcoin so that we don't get bit by a bad release. But as it turned out, the 0.8 hard fork just made it clear that there was an issue with old releases that could cause a hard fork even without 0.8. So wtogami and pooler will be helping me with rebasing the Litecoin code to 0.8.1. I do want to wait til May 15 to make sure that Bitcoin is able to handle the potential hard fork. Since the Litecoin community is much smaller, we should have even less of a problem. But it's better to be safe.
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