Litecoin has launched the new privacy-focused MimbleWimble upgrade. The changes have proliferated on the network for use by wallets and LTC nodes. Will this bring new excitement to the declining PoW coin?
Released earlier this month after a majority of nodes approved the MimbleWimble Update (MWEB), the upgraded implementation will be able to transact with new MWEB privacy features.
The upgrade was completed at a Litecoin block height of 2 million.
Reduced fees, more privacy, throughput and scalability for LTC
Following the release of MimbleWimble, lead developer of the update David Burkett made an urgent announcement for Litecoin node operators:
“Anyone interested in using MWEB, and especially those who have installed any of the early release candidates, should upgrade to the official v0.21.2 before MWEB is activated. If you wait until after MWEB is activated to upgrade, you will unfortunately have to re-sync the blockchain from scratch.
The MimbleWimble Litecoin update has been the cryptocurrency’s most anticipated update. MWEB not only introduces new privacy features for LTC users, but also offers the key blockchain performance upgrades.
In addition to allowing confidential transactions on the Litecoin blockchain, MWEB removes blocks unnecessary transaction data through compression.
This reduces block size for greater speed and scalability with more transaction bandwidth per block. It also allows new nodes to join Litecoin’s proof-of-work consensus network with lower initial computational costs.
Reducing the cost to join the network as a node is a trade-off.
Security proponents, for example, would say this reduces blockchain security to a 51% attack. But MimbleWimble and other scalability proponents would say it increases usability, reduces costs, and reduces centralization of mining.
Will MimbleWimble Save Litecoin Price Drop?
The locked and propagated LTC upgrade is another good news this month for crypto. Gucci announced in early May that it would be accept litecoin for payment later this month. Last month, LTC and Antpool Laboratories has teamed up for a foray into crypto-anonymity and Dapps.
Will MimbleWimble’s upgrade be enough to bolster Litecoin’s fortunes after a year of sliding LTC prices on crypto exchanges? In the short term, this is unlikely. Crypto exchange markets barely reacted to the upgrade news as LTC slid further along with BTC and ETH in a bear of a headwind in the crypto market.
But in the long term, the Litecoin network and developers are laying the groundwork to remain relevant, disruptive, and deliver value to users. Part of LTC’s barrier to wider adoption in the crypto world is that many crypto enthusiasts and investors would simply prefer to have BTC.
Litecoin is therefore on the right track with research and development on crypto-anonymity and the DeFi blockchain. Rather than resting on its laurels with the “we are silver to gold bitcoin” marketing gimmick, this ancient cryptocurrency specializes in the blockchain ecosystem by adding more unique value propositions to its underlying technology.
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