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By Mat Di Salvo
Litecoin is a Bitcoin spinoff, but uses a different mining algorithm Image: Shutterstock
Ordinal mania has caused increased blockchain activity—but not just on Bitcoin’s network: Litecoin, the 12th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is experiencing a huge surge in transactions.
Litecoin’s blockchain last week experienced over 584,838 transactions in one day, the highest in its history, according to crypto data website Bitinfocharts.
Activity has since dipped—363,855 transactions took place yesterday—but Litecoin use is still higher than it has ever been.
The cryptocurrency, which trades as LTC, is also one of the best performing digital assets in the past week: up 12.6% in seven days and trading for $91.43, according to CoinGecko.
Why? Because people are using Litecoin for Ordinals, a new craze in the crypto world which allows digital assets like pictures or moving images to be inscribed on a blockchain—just like NFTs.
This has caused activity on Bitcoin’s blockchain to surge—and transaction fees, too—as people use the network to mint new assets.
In February, a coder brought Ordinals to Litecoin’s blockchain and people have taken note. The Litecoin Foundation, a non-profit that pushes for the cryptocurrency’s adoption, told Decrypt that over 2.6 million Litecoin Ordinals have been inscribed on the blockchain.
“The Litecoin network so far has handled this enthusiasm without any issues,” they said in an email, adding that Litecoin fees have remained the same—despite the increase in activity.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin transaction fees have soared to two-year highs since Ordinals became popular, leading some in the community to blast the craze.
Litecoin was created in 2011 as a rival to Bitcoin. The idea was to make a peer-to-peer cash system cheaper than the oldest and most well-known digital currency.
As of yet, the cryptocurrency hasn’t been successful at beating Bitcoin in terms of adoption.
