LTCLitecoin: history, founders and key events
From Oct 13, 2011 to today, every major rally, crash and upgrade, each with a dated, sourced price.
Open the interactive timelineLatest close in our data: $60.26 (Coinbase Exchange LTC/USD daily close, 2026-10-14).
Origin story
Litecoin was created by Charlie Lee, then a Google engineer, and launched on October 13, 2011. It is a modified copy of Bitcoin with four times faster blocks (2.5 minutes), the Scrypt mining algorithm and a cap of 84 million coins.
Lee later joined Coinbase as director of engineering, and in 2017 sold his LTC to avoid conflicts of interest. Litecoin often tests features before Bitcoin, such as SegWit.
Founders: Charlie Lee.
Source: Coinbase Exchange LTC/USD daily closes 2016-08-17 to 2026-10-14. Fetched Oct 14, 2026 from free public APIs. Click a dot for the event and its price on that day.
Browse by year
Key events
- Oct 13, 2011launch
Litecoin launches
Charlie Lee releases Litecoin. - Aug 17, 2016milestone
First daily close in our data $3.62 (Coinbase Exchange LTC/USD daily close, 2016-08-17)
Our sourced LTC price history begins on this day. - May 10, 2017upgrade
Litecoin activates SegWit $32.82 (Coinbase Exchange LTC/USD daily close, 2017-05-10)
Litecoin adopts SegWit before Bitcoin. - Aug 5, 2019milestone
Second Litecoin halving $96.39 (Coinbase Exchange LTC/USD daily close, 2019-08-05)
The block reward falls from 25 to 12.5 LTC. - May 9, 2021rally
Highest close in our data $388.30 (Coinbase Exchange LTC/USD daily close, 2021-05-09)
The highest daily close for LTC in our price history. - May 19, 2022upgrade
MWEB privacy upgrade $72.02 (Coinbase Exchange LTC/USD daily close, 2022-05-19)
Optional confidential transactions arrive. - Jun 25, 2026crash
Lowest close after the peak $40.85 (Coinbase Exchange LTC/USD daily close, 2026-06-25)
The lowest LTC close in our data after its highest close.
Updated
Sources
Facts written in our own words. Last checked Oct 14, 2026.