Unlocking the Potential: How Litecoin's v24 Upgrade Could Pave the Way for a DEX on Litecoin

Litecoin, the longest-running digital money network with 100% uptime, is poised for a significant upgrade. David Burkett, the leading Litecoin developer, provides monthly updates on new features and upgrades being added to Litecoin. In his most recent update for April, Burkett discusses the highly anticipated Litecoin Core upgrade to v24.

This upgrade is significant as it will catch up Litecoin to Bitcoin in terms of its latest software release.

More importantly, it will integrate MWEB support for lite client wallets. MWEB is a privacy-preserving tool that makes Litecoin using this feature fungible. It also keeps the amounts in wallets and amounts sent privately, which are qualities of good money and are essential for a strong financial system.

The upgrade will also improve the use of Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBTs), which can be used to trade Litecoin ordinals in a decentralized manner.

This technology is utilized on the liteordex still in beta and can be used for other decentralized exchanges using Litecoin. This upgrade could be significant for a defi exchange built on Litecoin and used globally.

The Litecoin Core v24 Checklist includes several tasks such as integrating pre-MWEB Litecoin into Bitcoin’s v24 codebase, merging in the previously-released MWEB code, and enabling descriptor wallets with MWEB address support. Additionally, the upgrade will implement P2P support for Light Clients, finish implementing PSBTs, view key support, payment proofs, release notes, Gitian Build & Publish.

"I’ll be updating the following task list each month as we work toward the release" - David Burkett

Litecoin Core v24 Checklist:

◻ Integrate pre-MWEB litecoin into Bitcoin’s v24 codebase (tests remaining, then review) ◻ Merge in the previously-released MWEB code (Not started, expected by end of May) ◻ P2P Support for Light Clients (Implemented, in need of merging & thorough review) ◻ Enable descriptor wallets w/ MWEB address support (Not started) ◻ Finish implementing PSBTs (Mostly implemented, needs testing and review) ◻ View key support (Rough design known, implementation started) ◻ Payment Proofs (Design outlined in LIP-0004, implementation not started) ◻ Release Notes (Not started) ◻ Gitian Build & Publish (Not started)

The potential applications of the v24 upgrade extend beyond liteordex. It can be utilized by other decentralized exchanges built on Litecoin, including a possible DEX on Litecoin that could revolutionize the global DeFi landscape. David Schwartz, the director of the Litecoin Foundation, recently shared his excitement about this prospect, tweeting about a decentralized exchange that would leverage Litecoin's MWEB feature to enable the trading of digital assets as Litecoin as the trading pair.

With the integration of MWEB and other notable upgrades, Litecoin v24 could become the catalyst for mass adoption and widespread use of Litecoin as digital money. With the relentless efforts of David Burkett and the Litecoin development team in improving and advancing the network suggest a bright future for Litecoin. Only time will tell if Litecoin v24 will live up to the hype, but one thing is for sure: it's an upgrade worth keeping an eye on.