Litecoin had a nice breakout above $100 in the past week, now trading at $180. As part of that surge it passed Ripple to become the 5th highest coin by "market capitalization", behind only Bitcoin, Ethereum, BitcoinCash and IOTA. .
I think that litecoin is exceeding its own limits, remember that it has the same technology as bitcoin, let's say it is its twin. You do not have to envy any other currency. It is followed very good future. Take it!
The prices of cryptocurrencies do not stop surprising us. You have to look for cheap alternatives to invest in this market. Currently bitcoin is out of reach for some people, for this litecoin, remains at a stable price and many experts are recommending investing in it with their eyes closed.
I need to send about $1000-$2000 to my sister who lives in the US (I dont). I decided to test out Litecoin instead of doing a wire or using paypal. I thought 'its cheap, maybe I will save some money and learn more about how this thing can be used by average people'. I helped her open a coinbase account, she resisted it but eventually was persuaded by the $10 bonus they have. I sent her $102 as a test, by the time she got the money (it took 35 minutes to have the LTC show up on her wallet even though the network confirmed the transaction within 5 minutes), it turned into $103. She sold her LTC and was hit with a $3 fee by coinbase. This varies by amount. She requested a bank transfer (I believe its an ACH) that was 'free' and it will take about 1 week to hit her bank account. I also tested $100 via paypal, it was a lot faster (instant as a matter of act, and the ACH is also quick, for me it takes 1-2 days) but they hit her with a $5 fee. After learning all of this I realized that not only LTC will be more expensive, but it will also take longer, regardless of the quickness of the LTC blockchain transaction (that is fast, but getting real money from the LTC isn't). We plan to do a wire and be done with it. This doesn't mean I think LTC sucks or that it wont go up, but I thought it was interesting how little value added it offered over conventional methods. I thought this would help a great deal. Maybe its value lies in people that pay FX fees (or for people that want to get over capital controls) but for same currency transactions this crypto is almost useless
Hey, you've got a multi-billion dollar backed company with near a decade in the financial area and another start up that's basically still in its infancy and got near identical results. I don't even think coinbase is the cheapest/fastest way either.
Tr Check the fees on ethereum, people were discussing the arb on reddit said it was cheaper for transfers than bitcoin. Also, check the fees on www.gemini.com they may be lower than coinbase.
It's a difficult concept and you probably won't get to convince your sister to participate to the full extent, but Litecoin (or any crypto) is about being your own bank. Take out Coinbase from the equation. Send your litecoin from your wallet to your sister's wallet. End of story. Well, there's an addendum to the story, she wants to spend it, that's when she has to cash out, unlike bitcoin which can be spent easily in many places, but that's not part of your parameters...