Litecoin (LTC) is an open source, peer-to-peer payments currency in operation since 2011. Litecoin prides itself on providing instant, low-cost global payments for its users.

Today, Litecoin is a prominent altcoin and was the first of its kind to alter bitcoin. Litecoin can generate a block in 2.5 minutes, whereas bitcoin takes considerably longer to do it. This is of special interest to digital currency miners.

Steem (STEEM) has also enjoyed significant growth since its creation in 2016. Steem stands out from other currencies by offering a social media platform (Steemit) to its users.

In this article, we look at how Litecoin and Steem operate and their popularity in the digital currency market.

	Steem	Litecoin
Utility	Reward for Contributing to Steemit Platform	Peer-to-peer payments
Circulating Supply	$250 million	Over $55 million
Total Supply	$268 million	$84 million
Community	Large	Large
Market Capitalization	$700 million	$9.8 billion
Daily Trading Volume	$100 million	Over $800 million
Public Awareness	Low	Low

Utility

Litecoin provides an open source peer-to-peer payment option for its users. As mentioned, it was designed to do this quickly and at little cost. This makes Litecoin attractive to miners and others who prefer quick transaction times.

Steem also provides its users with a peer-to-peer payment option but isn't just operating as a digital spending currency. It rewards its users with its Steem currency after they contribute on the social media platform (Steemit).

Supply

Litecoin currently has a circulating supply of just over $55 million, while the currency has a total supply of $84 million.

Steem, on the other hand, has $250 million coins in circulation, with a total supply of just above $268 million.

Community

At the time of writing, CoinMarketCap had Litecoin as the fifth best currency in the digital market. Its fast and low-cost transaction process is a key factor in this.

While Steem might not be in the top five list, its popularity remains and its community continues to stretch globally. Its innovative Steemit platform has helped draw attention to the currency.

Market Capitalization

According to CoinMarketCap, Litecoin has a market capitalization of $9.8 billion. In contrast, Steem's market capitalization is currently at $700 million.

Daily Trading Volume

At the time of writing, Litecoin had a daily trading volume hovering just over the $800 million mark. The daily trading volume for Steem is currently around $100 million.

Public Awareness

Litecoin currently enjoys good market capitalization and popularity in the digital currency world. However, the public awareness surrounding the currency is low.

Like Litecoin, Steem is also a popular choice for digital currency investors. However, awareness of the currency is on the low side among the general population.

What To Take Away

With bitcoin being the clear front-runner in the market, a lot of investors are being now priced out of the currency. As a result, traders are looking for alternative altcoins in which to invest.

Litecoin has proved to be a popular choice for this. The currency has a lot of potential for disruption and has gained confidence among investors and miners.

While Steem may not boast the same market capitalization as Litecoin, its unique use of social media remains popular. It should be noted, though, that we may see other altcoins providing similar functions in the not-so-distant future.

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