In light of recent rumors of a collaboration between Litecoin and Monero (debunked by coin creators Charlie Lee and Riccardo Spagni), we take a look at the potential repercussions of such a joint venture.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple tend to grab most of the headlines. But if recent rumblings are to be believed, two other prominent altcoins may be about to create their own waves.
Litecoin (LTC) is the silver to Bitcoin’s gold and it’s meant to be a functional currency for daily use in the future. Monero (XMR) is arguably the premiere privacy token out there, and it’s meant to afford anonymity and censorship resistance. Back in January, LTC founder Charlie Lee met with Riccardo Spagni, a project leader of XMR. The meeting was followed by a series of tweets that have kicked speculation into high gear.
First, there was this tweet from Spagni (@fluffypony):
Charlie Lee (@Satoshi Lite) quickly chimed in to point out that Spagni was kidding, but also to approve of the idea of a LTC/XMR collaboration.
Atomic swaps allow for two different cryptocurrencies to be exchanged, instantly and in a secure manner, across two different blockchains. They essentially cut out the need for exchanges and provide a way to facilitate P2P trades in a completely trustless way.
Segregated Witness (SegWit) was implemented in May 2017, and after this was completed atomic swaps were first tested on the Litecoin network. For those who don’t know, SegWit is a proposed solution to Bitcoin’s scaling problems. In simplified terms, it’s the process by which the block size limit on a blockchain is increased by removing signature data from transactions, freeing up space to add more transactions to the chain.
It factors into this discussion because in order for an atomic swap to occur both SegWit and the lightning network must be operational on two different blockchains. Fast forward to the fall of 2017 and this is exactly what transpired, with the first atomic swap between Litecoin and Bitcoin being successfully completed in an off-chain payment channel. Others have followed suit, and the setting is now truly primed for further development.
Source/More: Is a Litecoin–Monero Collaboration in the Works? – Invest in Blockchain
