Litecoin (LTC)

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Field

Content

General information

S.1

CASP Name

BB TRADE ESTONIA OÜ

S.2

Relevant legal entity identifier

984500L05A5D0E66Q610

S.3

Blockchain network name

Litecoin

S.4

Name of the crypto-asset

LTC

S.5

Consensus Mechanism

Proof of Work (PoW - Scrypt algorithm)

S.6

Incentive Mechanisms and Applicable Fees

Litecoin secures its network through a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, where miners compete to solve cryptographic puzzles using the Scrypt hashing algorithm. This process validates transactions and creates new blocks on the blockchain. 

Incentives: Miners are rewarded for successfully finding a block:

Block Reward: Currently 6.25 LTC per block (after the 2023 halving), paid to the miner who discovers the block. This reward halves approximately every four years.

Transaction Fees: Miners also collect transaction fees paid by users to have their transactions included in a block. Fees on Litecoin are generally very low, encouraging broad adoption.

Merged Mining: Litecoin's Scrypt PoW enables "merged mining" with Dogecoin. This means miners securing Litecoin can simultaneously mine Dogecoin with negligible additional energy expenditure, providing security to both networks efficiently. The PoW mechanism ensures high security through computational effort, making malicious attacks economically impractical.

S.7

Beginning of the period to which the disclosure relates

2024-01-01

S.8

End of the period to which the disclosure relates

2024-12-31

Mandatory key indicator on energy consumption

S.9

Energy consumption

~10,000,000,000 kWh per calendar year

S.10

Energy consumption sources and methodologies

The energy consumption of the Litecoin network is primarily from the electricity used by specialized mining hardware (ASICs optimized for the Scrypt algorithm). These machines continuously perform computations to secure the network. Methodologies for estimation typically involve:

Efficiency-based modeling: Assessing the energy efficiency (Joules per Gigahash or Terahash) of various generations of Scrypt ASIC miners.

Network hash rate: Scaling the estimated hardware consumption by the total global hash rate of the Litecoin network. <br> Sources like Digiconomist's Litecoin Energy Consumption Index (LECI) model and track this data, considering the global distribution of mining operations.

Supplementary key indicators on energy and GHG emissions

S.11

Renewable energy consumption

~30%

S.12

Energy intensity 

~182.64 kWh per transaction

S.13

Scope 1 DLT GHG emissions – Controlled

0 t CO2eq per calendar year

S.14

Scope 2 DLT GHG emissions – Purchased

~4,750,000 t CO2eq per calendar year

S.15

GHG intensity 

~86.76 kg CO2eq per transaction

S.16

Key energy sources and methodologies

The energy sources for Litecoin mining operations are globally diverse, encompassing both fossil fuels (coal, natural gas) and sustainable sources (hydroelectric, solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear). The specific energy mix used by individual miners varies significantly by geographic location and economic factors. Methodologies for assessing energy sources typically involve:

Geographical mapping: Estimating the regional distribution of Scrypt hashing power.

Grid mix analysis: Correlating these locations with public datasets on electricity generation mixes and carbon intensity factors for those regions (e.g., from IEA, EIA, regional energy authorities).

S.17

Key GHG sources and methodologies

The predominant source of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions for Litecoin is Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased electricity). Methodologies for estimating these emissions involve:

Energy consumption * Emission Factor: Multiplying the estimated total electricity consumption of the Litecoin network (S.8) by the carbon intensity (grams of CO2 equivalent per kWh) of the electricity mix where miners operate.

Focus on operational emissions: Calculations primarily focus on the operational energy usage of the mining hardware, which is the main energy-consuming component of the network. Comprehensive, regularly updated environmental reports for Litecoin's specific GHG footprint are less common, relying on broader PoW energy modeling.