What is Litecoin? A 2026 Guide for Australians

Litecoin (LTC) is an open, public cryptocurrency released in October 2011 by Charlie Lee as a fork of the Bitcoin codebase. It uses Scrypt proof-of-work mining rather than Bitcoin's SHA-256, targets a block roughly every 2.5 minutes instead of about 10, and caps supply at 84 million LTC with halvings every 840,000 blocks. Often described as digital silver to Bitcoin's gold, it adopted SegWit early in 2017 as a testbed for Bitcoin-style upgrades, added the optional MWEB privacy soft fork in May 2022, and is merge-mined with Dogecoin. This guide covers how the network works, how LTC compares with Bitcoin and Dogecoin, what people use it for, and the Australian angle: AUSTRAC-registered platforms for AUD purchases, ATO capital gains tax basics, custody choices and the main risks. Education only — not financial advice. Publisher: Eagle BTM Pty Ltd ACN 659 281 820 (AUSTRAC DCE / VASP).

What is Litecoin? LTC explained for Australians — how it works vs Bitcoin, Scrypt mining, AUD buying, ATO CGT basics, and key risks in 2026.