The Litecoin Standard

Living on a Litecoin Standard is getting easier. To be completely on Litecoin, rather than a fiat standard, is an incredible undertaking. You would have to earn Litecoin, be able to use Litecoin, save in Litecoin, and pay all your bills in Litecoin. The tech and ecosystem simply isn't there yet. However, it is getting easier. More easier and more simple. Using Litecoin (because of the low transaction fees) is getting smoother as the years go by. One of the greatest things about the Litecoin community, is that it embraces using Litecoin. Many other communities scoff at using crypto and only promote hoarding. This is an interesting take, because you kind of need to spend money from time to time to buy goods and services.

So, how do you get Litecoin in the first place to live off of? Well, there is the traditional experience of purchasing LTC on an exchange like Coinbase, ABRA, Binance, and many others. Or you could have a service like https://gethedge.io/ to do the automatic conversion with your paycheck. And if you're one of the few to get paid in Litecoin, that makes it very easy. If you do get paid in Litecoin (or a different crypto) it is technically possible to live complete away from fiat. This is very intriguing for a number of reasons. Many crypto companies pay their employees in crypto like Exodus.com. If you get paid in BTC and find it easier to USE LTC you can always do a conversion on numerous exchanges. You see, living on crypto and especially LTC is getting easier by the day. New ways are constantly being created. Let's explore some here.

There are a number of places you can use Litecoin to buy gift cards. Gift cards aren't always the best way to purchase goods and services but it is an option. The following links allow for LTC to be used for the purchase of gift cards (not an exhaustive list) https://piggy.cards/index.php?route=common/home

https://www.bitrefill.com/?hl=en

One of the most intriguing and interesting ways to use LTC is something called SPEDN by FLEXA. This is powered by its own cryptocurrency called AMP. The process is a little futuristic to understand, but at the Point of Sale (P.O.S.) FLEXA automatically converts your LTC into fiat. It also works with a number of other cryptocurrencies. The company or business gets fiat and you pay in the currency of your choice (LTC). Don't believe me? I have done this personally at Dunkin Donuts and there wasn't a single glitch. It worked, like magic. No awkward requests, no hiccups. I almost couldn't believe it. As I drove away drinking my 78 ounces of iced mocha, I thought the world is getting closer to using digital currencies for all of their needs. Do your research on FLEXA and AMP, but it does sound in the least, interesting. Unlike a lot of Bitcoin Maxis, Litecoin doesn't get irritated that you might actually want to use your currency. LTC has embraced the spending function of the digital currency. Once digital currencies become dominant because of convenience or even due to need (the collapse of fiat) these services are going to become extremely important. FLEXA and services like it, might be cool tech now, but might be extremely necessary in the future.

A little bit less complicated than FLEXA is a traditional service like BITPAY. Essentially, BITPAY (along with other coins, allows the use of LTC) converts your LTC to spendable cash. It can convert your LTC in real time and doesn't require for you to sell all of your LTC. Just the LTC you need. BITPAY uses Mastercard and basically you can use your card anywhere Mastercard (which is practically everywhere) is accepted. Yes, there are some conversion fees, but if you really want to live on a Litecoin Standard, this is a service that makes it very convenient and practical. Practicality is something that Litecoin is always working on. There are also things like Coinbase pay.

And one of the most obvious places you can store Litecoin to use is the official Litecoin card. You can find it here: litecoin-card.com. A popular way to use Litecoin anywhere Visa is accepted. A very easy to use and convenient way to use Litecoin. Simply add LTC to the card and it will process your purchases anytime, anywhere. You can even get cash out at an ATM. And, you can even load the LTC card straight from the LTC foundations very own Litewallet application for iPhone and Android. Simply enable 2FA and you can load the card straight from your secured Litewallet app. Pretty awesome.

As we see the Litecoin ecosystem develop, there may become more options to remain on the Litecoin standard. One use case that comes in and out of popularity are paper wallets. Paper wallets are exactly that, wallets that are on paper. Or even another option is something known as an open dime. Basically any amount of LTC is stored on the paper wallet or the usb type device. Instead of sending LTC digitally, you can just hand over your paper wallet. Like handing someone a twenty dollar bill instead of sending them 20 dollars via Venmo or Paypal. Pretty neat, right? You can verify the amount so that you don't get scammed. One of the leaders in this space is https://www.ballet.com/en/. Cold storage wallets. Ironically, if I am not mistaken this is owned by Charlie's brother, Bobby Lee. Bitcoin and Litecoin often talk about scaling, and paper wallets would be one way to do so. The danger is that if you lose your paper wallet or open dime you might be S.O.L. But we'll see if these become more popular over time. They might, especially if the price of LTC explodes and one doesn't want to incur an on-chain transaction fee.

Speaking of on-chain transactions, Litecoin is currently very inexpensive to use. This bodes well for being able to use Litecoin, and thus living on a Litecoin standard. And when Litecoin becomes extremely popular and all the transactions simply can't be completed on-chain, remember that Litecoin does have lightning capabilities. So if lighting really does deliver on its promises, Litecoin will embrace that option. You see: Litecoin, the Litecoin Community, and the Litecoin Foundation (litecoin.net) is always trying to envision a world where Litecoin becomes as practical as possible.