Bitcoin vs Ethereum vs Litecoin
Full comparison between Bitcoin vs Ethereum vs Litecoin. The table collects important specifications of cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin like price, Cryptocurrency inflation rate, ROI, max supply and all-time high (Learn more at What is ATH in Crypto?).| Bitcoin | Ethereum | Litecoin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch Date | January 03, 2009 | July 30, 2015 | October 13, 2011 |
| Max Supply | 21,000,000 BTC | Infinite supply ETH | 84,000,000 LTC |
| ICO, PreMine or AirDrop | No | Yes | No |
| % Core Team / Foundation | No | 12,009,990.50 ETH | No |
| Annual Inflation Rate to date (daily update GMT+0) | 1.76% | 3.95% | 1.82% |
| Annual Inflation Rate to date 5 Years from today | 0.42% | 3.30% | 0.85% |
| Annual Inflation Rate to date10 Years from today | 0.10% | 2.48% | 0.10% |
| Transaction Per Second on chain | 7 | 13 | 56 |
| Transaction Per Second on 2-nd leyer | Millions (Lightning Network) | 10,000 (under development) | Millions (Lightning Network) |
| Proof of Work vs Proof of Stake | POW | POS | POW |
| Mining or Staking | Mining | Staking | Mining |
| Mining Algorithm | SHA-256 | No | Scrypt |
| GPU or ASIC Mining | ASIC mining | No | ASIC mining |
| Block Time | 10 minutes | 13 seconds | 2.5 minutes |
| Initial Rewards | 50 BTC each block | 5 ETC each block | 50 LTC each block |
| Current Mining Reward | 6.25 BTC / block | 0 ETH each block | 12.5 BTC / block |
| Current Staking Reward | No | ~ 4.27% annual percentage yield | No |
| Lightning Network | Yes | No | Yes |
| Smart Contract | No | Yes | No |
| Decentralized Applications (DApps) | No | Yes | No |
| Submarine Swaps | Yes | No | Yes |
| Privacy | No | No | Yes |
| The average transaction fee | $0.50 - $7.00 | $0.24 - $12.00 | $0.02 - $0.80 |
| All-Time High | $68,789 | $4,892 | $412.96 |
| More Info on Coinmarketcap.com | Bitcoin marketcap, price and chart | Ethereum marketcap, price and chart | Litecoin marketcap, price and chart |
| Official website | https://bitcoin.org/ | https://ethereum.org/ | https://litecoin.org/ |
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin are all cryptocurrencies that utilize blockchain technology. However, there are some notable differences between the three:
Purpose: Bitcoin was created as a digital alternative to fiat currencies, while Ethereum was created to be a platform for decentralized applications and smart contracts. Litecoin was created to address some of the limitations of Bitcoin.
Blockchain structure: Bitcoin has a simple blockchain structure, while Ethereum has a more complex structure that allows for the creation of decentralized applications and smart contracts. Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin in terms of its blockchain structure.
Mining Algorithm: Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 algorithm for mining, Litecoin uses Scrypt and Ethereum is POS. This means that mining new blocks and validating transactions is no longer possible on ETH through computational work as in PoW.
Block time: The time it takes for a block to be added to the blockchain is 10 minutes for Bitcoin, 15 seconds for Ethereum, and 2.5 minutes for Litecoin.
Total Supply: The total supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million, while Ethereum has no fixed supply limit and Litecoin has a total supply of 84 million.
Transactions per second: Litecoin can process more transactions per second than Bitcoin and Ethereum on chain. Ethereum’s current maximum capacity for processing transactions is around 15 transactions per second, which is lower than Litecoin and more than Bitcoin. However, Ethereum is in the process of upgrading its network to Ethereum 2.0, which aims to increase its transaction processing capacity significantly. On the other hand, Bitcoin and Litecoin have already done this by implementing the lightning network and can reach millions of transactions per second.
Transaction Fees: Transaction fees for Litecoin tend to be lower than those for Bitcoin, as the faster block time and increased supply result in a more efficient network.Ethereum transaction fees are some of the highest in the crypto industry.The average transaction fee on the Ethereum network can range from a few cents to several dollars, depending on network conditions.
Adoption: Bitcoin is widely recognized as a form of payment and has a large, established community, while Ethereum is widely used as a platform for decentralized applications and smart contracts, and Litecoin has a strong following within the cryptocurrency community.
Use Cases: Bitcoin is primarily used as a store of value and a means of payment, while Ethereum is used for decentralized applications and smart contracts, and Litecoin is used as a means of payment and a store of value.
Bitcoin vs Ethereum vs Litecoin – Price Comparison
In 2021 the all-time high (ATH) prices for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) were:
- Bitcoin (BTC) price again reached an all-time high in 2021, as values exceeded over 65,000 USD in November 2021
- Ethereum (ETH) briefly attained its highest value of $4,815 in November 2021
- Litecoin (LTC) reached its all-time high of nearly $410 in 2021
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin price comparison chart
Bitcoin ROI vs Ethereum ROI vs Litecoin ROI per Years
| Year | Bitcoin Price | BTC ROI last year | Ethereum Price | ETH ROI last year | Litecoin Price | LTC ROI last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01-01-2010 | $0.05 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 01-01-2011 | $0.30 | 500.00% | - | - | - | - |
| 01-01-2012 | $5.00 | 1566.67% | - | - | - | - |
| 01-01-2013 | $13.24 | 164.80% | - | - | $0.07 | - |
| 01-01-2014 | $757.99 | 5625.00% | - | - | $24.11 | 34342.86% |
| 01-01-2015 | $321.00 | -57.65% | - | - | $2.75 | -88.58% |
| 01-01-2016 | $436.00 | 35.83% | $0.95 | - | $3.52 | 27.92% |
| 01-01-2017 | $1,005.00 | 130.50% | $8.46 | 790.53% | $4.57 | 29.72% |
| 01-01-2018 | $13,941.75 | 1287.24% | $768.87 | 8988.30% | $232.29 | 4982.93% |
| 01-01-2019 | $3,845.44 | -72.42% | $141.25 | -81.63% | $31.79 | -86.31% |
| 01-01-2020 | $7,237.35 | 88.21% | $132.64 | -6.10% | $41.78 | 31.42% |
| 01-01-2021 | $29,700.00 | 310.37% | $750.34 | 465.70% | $133.92 | 220.53% |
| 01-01-2022 | $47,960.98 | 61.48% | $3,777.73 | 403.47% | $150.90 | 12.68% |
| 01-01-2023 | $16,622.00 | -65.34% | $1,203.50 | -68.14% | $71.43 | -52.66% |
| Year | Bitcoin Price | BTC ROI last year | Ethereum Price | ETH ROI last year | Litecoin Price | LTC ROI last year |
Bitcoin vs Ethereum vs Litecoin – Market Cap Comparison
- Bitcoin (BTC) had the highest market capitalization of $1.28 trillion on November 9, 2021
- Ethereum (ETH) had the highest market capitalization of $558 Billion in November 2021
- Litecoin (LTC) had the highest market capitalization of $25 Billion in May 2021
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin market cap comparison chart
In conclusion, each cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin serves a unique purpose and has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of which to use depends on the specific use case and personal preference. DYOR – Do your own research and make own comparison between Bitcoin vs Ethereum vs Litecoin!
I am a crypto journalist and blockchain expert. I like technology and started reading about bitcoin in 2013. Crypto is my passion and I like to write about cryptocurrencies.
P.S.
When I wrote the article “Bitcoin vs Ethereum vs Litecoin” I analyzed statistics from various reliable sources. Always verified information from the Genesis code.
