Litecoin Cash Is Coming, But There's Some Controversy About Its Legitimacy

Bitcoin has recived the lion’s share of cryptocurrency headlines in the past year, but a handful of popular altcoins have begun to get some major investor support as well.

As of Tuesday morning, Litecoin was the sixth largest global cryptocurrency, with a market cap of more than $8.6 billion. The Litecoin Cash Foundation, which is unaffiliated with Litecoin, announced it will be conducting a hard fork in the Litecoin blockchain and creating a brand new cryptocurrency called Litecoin Cash.

What Is Litecoin Cash?

The Litecoin Cash hard fork will reportedly take place in the Litecoin blockchain at block 1371111. According to a press release from the Litecoin Cash Foundation, Litecoin holders will receive 10 Litecoin Cash for every Litecoin they hold at the time of the fork.

A hard fork is a major change in the software of a particular currencies that results in the splitting of its blockchain.

Litecoin Cash is designed to improve upon the “block speed” of the original Litecoin. Litecoin Cash is targeting a 2.5-minute block speed, faster than Litecoin and much faster than the 10-minute block speed of bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Litecoin Cash will also use a proof-of-work mining method that will allow it to be mined using older bitcon mining hardware that is no longer powerful enough to mine bitcoin.

One of the unique design features of the original Litecoin was that it required less energy to mine than bitcoin. Litecoin Cash also claims it will reduce transaction fees by 90 percent compared to Litecoin.

Litecoin Cash Controversy

Strangely enough, there seems to be a bit of confusion about the legitimacy of Litecoin Cash. Just days before the fork was announced, Litecoin founder Charlie Lee tweeted that any fork in the Litecoin blockchain is “a scam” and that neither he nor the Litecoin team are forking Litecoin.

On Tuesday, Business Insider reported it has been unable to independently verify the identities of the people running the Litecoin Cash Foundation. The foundation’s website provides no verifiable credentials or last names for its four team members.

The Litecoin Cash Foundation website liks to an interview with Litecoin Cash's head developer "Tanner" published on the website Smart Options, but the article again provides no background invormation on the developer himself.

Buyer Beware

According to Litecoin Cash Foundation, Litecoin holders should wait for the fork to occur, move their Litecoin holdings to a new address and then use the privacy key for the old address to claim Litecoin Cash. The fork is expected to occur on or near Feb. 19.

The biggest reason there are no cryptocurrency funds or other assets approved for listing in the U.S. is because the Securities and Exchange Commission has repeatedly expressed concerns over the safety of the largely unregulated cryptocurrency market. Investors should always use common sense and rely on due diligence prior to making any sizable investment, but caution is particularly warranted when it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies.

Related Links:

Goldman Sachs Predicts The Current Generation Of Cryptocurrencies Likely Won't Survive

12 Cryptocurrencies To Watch In 2018 (Besides Bitcoin)