Litecoin has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world. It is listed as the seventh biggest crypto on CoinMarketCap, with a total of $3.24 billion market cap. Although it’s still pretty far away from Bitcoin, it’s safe to assume that LTC is doing pretty well on its own.
However, in order to find out how LTC came to be, we need to go back to the time of its creation. Its story starts with a person named Charlie Lee. This article will briefly discuss his biography and his idea to create Litecoin.
If you’re interested in learning more about the crypto itself, there are many great Litecoin 101 articles out there.
Who Is Charlie Lee?
Charlie Lee is a computer scientist who gained worldwide popularity as the creator of Litecoin. However, before making a cryptocurrency of his own, he worked for various other companies.
Born in the African nation of Ivory Coast where his parents lived, Lee moved to the US when he was only 13. He started his high-school education there and graduated in 1995. Lee’s talent for computer science was undeniable, which is why he decided to attend MIT where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in this field. He officially graduated in 2000, starting his professional career immediately after that.
His career began at Google where he worked for almost ten years. As a matter of fact, he was part of the group that worked on the code for Chrome OS. Yet, his interest in operative systems was not that big. On the other hand, when Bitcoin appeared, Lee became increasingly interested.
Read more about Litecoin future here.
Blockchain technology fascinated Lee and inspired him to make the first step towards stardom by releasing Litecoin on Bitcointalk. It turned out that Lee was working on blockchain technology when he wasn’t working for Google. That’s when he officially mined 150 coins and decided to make his project public.
Why Did He Create Litecoin?
Although Lee’s initial idea was to make a “lighter” version of BTC that would be used for smaller transactions, his cryptocurrency turned out to be quite popular on its own. Back in the day, LTC used technology that made transactions quicker compared to Bitcoin, and many saw that as its primary advantage.
Once he transferred from Google to Coinbase, he was able to promote his coin further, making it very attractive to investors.
Although it’s challenging to discuss Lee’s initial drive to make a BTC alternative, it’s safe to assume that he made it for the same reason all people start their crypto journey — to make money.
In December 2017 when the crypto sales and prizes were hitting the ceiling, Lee decided to make a bold move. He sold and donated all his LTC holdings and only kept a couple of them that were minted in physical form as collectables.
Right now, Charlie Lee is the managing director of a company called Litecoin Foundation that focuses on LTC adoption.
