Noah Esper

Staff Writer

Nle5099@psu.edu

The cryptocurrency Litecoin has seen a recent surge in interest after its value increased by roughly 30%. It’s value increased from $190 to $300 before later dropping to $260. This increase has led to greater interest in the world of cryptocurrency as they become more accessible to the average consumer thanks to applications like Coinbase and Robinhood. For those who don’t already know, Cryptocurrencies are a digital token that acts as a decentralized form of currency. Because of the decentralized and private nature of Cryptocurrencies, they are not regulated by any national governing body as opposed to traditional fiat currencies like the US dollar. There are a variety of different cryptocurrencies ranging in purpose and value, with the most well known example being Bitcoin. Bitcoin saw a meteoric rise with the value of a single Bitcoin going from seven cents to $66,470, as of right now. With Bitcoin’s rise, many other creators saw the potential of cryptocurrencies, hoping to introduce their own coins in order to compete with Bitcoin. These include coins like Etherum, DogeCoin and Litecoin. Litecoin was launched in 2011 by Charles Lee. Lee is a prominent computer scientist, who, at the time was working for Google and would later go on to become the director of engineering at Coinbase. Litecoin was originally created to work alongside Bitcoin instead of directly competing with it. The idea was that Litecoin was “the silver to Bitcoins Gold”. In regards to the two coins, they both share many similarities like being an open source and peer to peer. Another factor that distinguishes coins like Bitcoin and Litecoin to more recent competitors like Dogecoin is their scarcity. While cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin have no limit on the amount that can be produced, Litecoin and Bitcoin have a limited amount. The supply of Litecoins is capped at around eighty four million. The reason for this cap is to help maintain the value of the coin, similar to how most national currencies were originally backed by precious metals like gold. While most countries have abandoned this gold standard for their currency, cryptocurrencies have effectively created their own gold standard with them being backed not by gold, but with data. While the history of cryptocurrency is relatively easy to report on, reporting on the future of cryptocurrencies is nearly impossible. The problem is that cryptocurrencies are almost always in a constant state of price fluctuation, with values changing every hour. Unlike the stock market, the crypto market never closes. This 24 hour service means it can be very hard for journalists to create accurate predictions on the market. By the time the article is done, the value of the market could have completely changed. To illustrate this frustration, when editors of The Beacon found out that Litecoin was on rise with a value of $300, by the time the story was ready to be written, the value had already dropped to $250. While the article is being written, the value has now increased again to $260, but has also begun to decrease again. By the time the article is published, it could be worth anywhere from $500 to $5. So, to those of you who are looking to invest in cryptocurrency, be advised that you should not put too much faith in journalists who write inflammatory articles about how this coin is the next big thing. Instead, research and use applications like Coinbase and Robinhood when looking for a new investment. These apps are great for new investors, and they give live price values of coins. These apps will be able to report on the value of the market much faster than other journalists can.