Coinbase has announced it is adding support for Litecoin to allow customers easily buy, sell, send, and store the currency on its website or mobile apps. The news which has been long in the waiting comes as Litecoin is on the verge of activating the Segregated Witness (SegWit) upgrade.
Litecoin’s addition on Coinbase will expose it to markets in more than 30 countries where the exchange is available.
SegWit is expected to enable a change to the transaction data format that requires less storage space and allow the adding of scaling innovations like Lightning Networks (LN) that would make transactions settle quickly on the Blockchain. Its ability to combine both Bitcoin and the Lightning Network for transactions has been debated to be a major feature that could see it become more valuable as it can open new possibilities that the industry is yet to see.
It is also believed that SegWit activation on Litecoin could bring new users into the cryptocurrency fold.
At a recent presentation for Coinbase, its creator, Charlie Lee, maintains that Litecoin was made to complement and not compete with Bitcoin hence the design to make it “find a different kind of sweet spot for security decentralization and transactions throughput and fees” will still make Bitcoin the most secured and most decentralized coin.
He says:
“Bitcoin can be used for moving billions of dollars between banks, buying houses, buying cars. It is really secure. It’s uncensorable for that. Litecoin could be used for cheaper things. Litecoin and other coins can fulfill other needs. I think something like Lightning Network can be able to interconnect the two coins so that you can go from Litecoin to Bitcoin very easily via Lightning …That’s why I am pushing very hard for SegWit on Litecoin and Bitcoin so that they both get Lightning to enable payment on both networks. Litecoin can also be used to make cheaper transactions.”
Lee had earlier put forward a poll on his Twitter page to ask his followers which they think will happen first between SegWit activation and the availability of Litecoin for trade on Coinbase platform. Two-thirds voted for the trading to come on Coinbase.
With SegWit activation going live in a matter of days, there is a tendency that both developments would have a great effect on the price of Litecoin which currently is at $21 according to website.