By: Ofir Beigel | Last updated: 8/9/23
Ever since Litecoin was created back in 2011, it was considered Bitcoin’s popular younger brother. In this guide I will review the various ways you can buy Litecoin online and offline, as well as how to store it.
How to Buy Litecoin Summary
- Get a Litecoin wallet (e.g. Exodus, Ledger, Edge)
- Find an exchange that sells Litecoin (e.g. Coinmama, CEX.io)
- Deposit money and make the trade
- Withdraw the Litecoins to your wallet
If you want a deeper explanation about the various methods available for buying Litecoin and wallets to store it in, keep on reading. Here’s what I’ll cover:
- What is Litecoin in a nutshell
- Buying Litecoin in 3 Steps
- Additional methods for buying Litecoin
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion – What does the future hold for Litecoin?
1. What is Litecoin in a Nutshell?
Litecoin is a Bitcoin spinoff created by former Google employee Charlie Lee in October 2011. Litecoin has taken the general idea behind Bitcoin, but changed a few key components:
- The block time is 2.5 minutes on average, versus 10 minutes for Bitcoin.
- The mining algorithm has changed from SHA-256 to Scrypt. This makes mining hardware for Litecoin more complicated and difficult to create.
- The total number of Litecoins available is 84 million, as opposed to Bitcoin’s 21 million.
- Litecoin now has a built-in privacy feature called Mimblewimble, which makes transactions private to outsiders.
To sum it up, if Bitcoin is digital gold, Litecoin is digital silver. It’s faster but also cheaper and more abundant than Bitcoin – and now more private.
2. Buying Litecoin in 3 Steps
Step 1 – Get a Litecoin wallet
Before you go off to buy Litecoin, you will need a wallet to store it in. There are many Litecoin wallets available today, but in this post I’ll just review the best ones in my opinion.
Litecoin Hardware Wallets
The best option for storing any cryptocurrency would be to use a hardware wallet. These are pieces of hardware that store the private key to your coins offline.
Today, there are two leading hardware manufacturers to choose from – Ledger and TREZOR. Both companies have different models of hardware wallets that will get the job done.
If you want deeper insights on specific models, you can read my Ledger Nano X review or my TREZOR Model T review.
Litecoin Software Wallets
Hardware wallets cost money, so if you’re not sure how serious you are about cryptocurrencies and just want to get a taste of what they feel like, perhaps you would be better off starting with a software wallet.
A software wallet is a free program that lets you store your coins on your computer or mobile phone.
The easiest Litecoin software wallets to get started with are undoubtedly Exodus and Edge. Both wallets are very intuitive. Exodus is available on desktop for Windows, Mac and Linux, as well as on mobile for both iOS and Android. Edge on the other hand is only available on mobile, with both iOS and Android apps available. If you want more information you can read my Exodus review or my Edge review.
For a complete explanation about hardware wallets, software wallets and additional types of wallets, make sure to watch our Bitcoin Whiteboard Tuesday episode about wallets.
Once you have your wallet ready, you will need to locate your Litecoin address. Your Litecoin address is a long string of letters and numbers starting with “L”, “3” or “M”. Here’s an example:
LM2WMpR1Rp6j3Sa59cMXMs1SPzj9eXpGc1
Step 2 – Find an LTC Exchange
As Litecoin becomes more and more popular, the number of cryptocurrency exchanges that sell Litecoin is constantly increasing.
In this section, I’ll focus on the easiest exchanges to get started with, that also supply the widest variety of payment methods.
eToro disclaimer: This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK
Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU
protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk,
including the loss of principal.
74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
CFDs are not available to US customers.
Buying Litecoin through eToro
Pros: Easy to get started with, various payment methods
Cons: Less suited for accessing the actual coins
eToro is a popular and well-established cryptocurrency trading platform that makes it easy for you to invest in Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies for fiat currency (i.e. Dollars, Euros, etc.). In other words, eToro is more targeted towards traders than towards users who are looking to actually own their coins.
Even though you can withdraw or send coins from eToro to other people, this part is difficult to do. Therefore, the platform is more suited for price speculation. (Note: CFD trading is not available to US users.)
On the other hand, it is a super user-friendly platform that offers great customer support and the widest variety of payment methods (wire, credit card, PayPal, Neteller and more).
If you use eToro for investment purposes only, you don’t actually need a Litecoin wallet. eToro also allows you to short a certain currency if you think its price will drop.
Visit eToro Read review
eToro disclaimer: This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK
Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU
protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk,
including the loss of principal.
74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
CFDs are not available to US customers.
Buying Litecoin through Coinmama
Pros: Simple buying process, reliable company
Cons: Relatively high fees
Coinmama allows you to instantly buy Litecoins with your credit card, debit card or a wire transfer, including SEPA/Swift transfers. They accept users from most countries around the world (but excludes the US states of New York and Hawaii).
The company has been around for a long time (since 2013) and is considered trustworthy. You can read my full Coinmama review here.
Coinmama won’t hold your Litecoins for you, which means you’ll need to make sure you have a Litecoin wallet and address before starting the buying process (as I’ve covered in Step 1).
Coins are sent almost instantly once the buying process is completed.
Visit Coinmama Read review
Buying Litecoin through CEX.io
Pros: Low fees on trading platform, wide variety of payment methods
Cons: High fees on the brokerage service
CEX allows you to buy Litecoin in a fast & secure way, using your credit card, debit card or wire transfer. The site offers two methods for buying Litecoins:
- A brokerage service (the company sells you Litecoins directly) – An easy process at a premium price
- A trading platform (you interact with buyers/sellers from around the world) – A cheaper, but relatively complex process for beginners
Like Coinmama, CEX has been around since 2013 and has gained a very good reputation since. If you’re just starting out, it will probably be better if you use the brokerage service since it’s simpler than the trading platform.
Keep in mind that the brokerage service fees are around 7%, while the trading platform fees start at 0.25% and decrease as your trading volume increases.
If you’re buying a small amount, that shouldn’t make that much of a difference and sometimes it’s better to pay a little extra for an easier, faster process.
Visit Cex.io Read review
Buying Litecoin through Coinbase
Pros: Low fees on ACH/SEPA transfer, established company, supports PayPal & Apple/Google Pay
Cons: Horrible support, not available worldwide
Coinbase lets you buy Litecoins using your debit card, bank account, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Coinbase accepts buyers from over 100 countries around the world and the fees on the exchange are relatively low (mainly for ACH transfers inside the US).
The company is well-established and has been selling cryptocurrencies since 2012. On the downside, don’t expect anyone from their support to answer if you encounter any issues (they have created a name for themselves in that field).
The bottom line for Coinbase is this – if they are supported in your country, they are probably the cheapest and fastest option for buying Litecoin.
Visit Coinbase Read review
Buying Litecoin through Bitpanda
Pros: Multiple payment methods supported, relatively low fees
Cons: Not available worldwide
Bitpanda is a cryptocurrency broker that specializes in buying and selling cryptocurrency within the Eurozone. Bitpanda lets you buy Litecoins using your credit/debit card, Skrill account, SEPA transfer, SOFORT transfer, Giropay/EPS or Neteller.
The company was founded in late 2014 and has since grown to become one of the more popular options to purchase cryptocurrency around Europe.
Visit Bitpanda Read review
Buying Litecoin through Bitstamp
Pros: Reputable exchange, relatively low fees and exchange rate
Cons: Complicated for beginners
Bitstamp is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges out there. Bitstamp allows you to buy Litecoins using a credit/debit card, ACH for US users or SEPA for European customers. Alternatively you can exchange Bitcoins for Litecoins on the exchange.
Aside from a pretty confusing trading platform, Bitstamp also offers a direct buying service for cryptocurrencies via credit/debit card, but this comes at a premium.
Visit Bitstamp Read review
Step 3 – Withdraw Your Litecoin
Once you decide on an exchange, open an account and buy your Litecoin. Make sure to withdraw the Litecoin from the exchange to your personal wallet.
Never leave coins on an exchange, as you risk losing them all if that exchange gets hacked or shuts down (which has happened in the past).
3. Additional Options for Buying Litecoin
If you already own Bitcoin and wish to exchange it for Litecoin, you can do that on a crypto-to-crypto exchange like Binance. Alternatively, you can always buy Bitcoin and swap it for Litecoin using Binance.
Buying Litecoin with Paypal
PayPal allows users in some countries to purchase Litecoin directly on its platform, as well as transfer them to a third-party wallet if you’re based in the US. The only other direct option to buy Litecoin with PayPal is through Coinbase, but once again, this is only available to US users.
If you’re looking only for price speculation (not available to US users) and not to actually own the coins, you can invest through eToro.
However, if you live outside the US and you want to actually hold your coins, you’ll most likely need to buy Bitcoins with Paypal and then exchange them for Litecoins on a crypto-to-crypto exchange like Binance or Changelly.
Important: Buying cryptocurrencies with PayPal usually includes A LOT of fees. Make sure you’re aware of all of the fees beforehand, so you won’t be surprised.
Buying Litecoin without ID or verification
Since Litecoin isn’t as popular a payment method as Bitcoin is, it’s hard to find a credible way to buy it without any verification. The best way to buy Litecoin anonymously would be to buy Bitcoins anonymously and then trade those Bitcoins for Litecoins on Binance or Changelly with a disposable email.
4. Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Litecoins are Left to Mine?
As of July 20 2022, 70,762,495 Litecoins have been mined. This means that there are just over 13 million Litecoins left to mine.
Can you Mine Litecoin?
Yes. Litecoin mining is used in order to update the ledger of Litecoin transactions, Just like Bitcoin Mining. Litecoins can be mined with specific Litecoin mining hardware.
5. Conclusion – Is Litecoin a Good Investment?
Throughout the years, Litecoin has proved itself to be a coin that’s here to stay with a strong community and development team behind it.
The question of “will it play a role in the future monetary system?” is still unanswered, but for now Litecoin remains close to Bitcoin, following it in its ups and downs.
Have you found any other interesting ways to purchase Litecoins? If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.