Is Litecoin a Bitcoin Fork? The Real Story Behind Litecoin's Origins
Litecoin is frequently described by institutional investors and financial media as a 'Bitcoin fork.' This is technically imprecise. Litecoin was created in 2011 by Charlie Lee by modifying Bitcoin's open-source code — making it a derivative, not a fork of an existing chain. No coins were airdropped to Bitcoin holders. Litecoin launched from a fresh genesis block with its own independent chain history.
- Litecoin launched October 13, 2011 — created by Charlie Lee at Google
- Not a chain fork: launched from its own genesis block, no airdrop to BTC holders
- Based on Bitcoin's open-source codebase with key parameter changes: 2.5 min blocks, Scrypt PoW
- First cryptocurrency to activate SegWit (May 2017) and Lightning Network
- MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Blocks) added optional privacy in 2022
Full interactive article with on-chain data available at ltc.supply/news/litecoin-origins