tweeted litecoin creator Charlie Lee in response to the launch of litecoin cash, a cryptocurrency that's expected to spin off from his project, the fifth largest cryptocurrency by total value, next weekend, taking its code and transaction history with it. Always outspoken, Lee went on to call the project a "scam," warning users: "Don't fall for it."
His harsh comments might come as a surprise since litecoin cash's developers admit they have no ties to the official litecoin project and don't particularly see it as a competitor.
Much the same as other projects "forking" to create a new cryptocurrency, litecoin cash's developers claim they simply want to use an existing codebase to create a newer and better form of online exchange. Also, by changing litecoin's underlying mining algorithm to the one bitcoin uses, they argue litecoin cash will bring new life to old, abandoned mining equipment in a kind of strange recycling attempt.
But while developers claim that's the motivation, users seem mostly interested in the "free" money.
Already, an influx of buyers on more consumer-friendly exchanges is driving the price of litecoin to notable highs, in part because, due to the mechanics of the fork, any user who owns litecoin at the time of the fork will immediately have a portion of litecoin cash.
Bolstering this view is the name "litecoin cash," an obvious reference to the successful fork bitcoin cash, the profitable project that sparked the wave of forks carrying into 2018.
And litecoin cash's lead developer Tanner, who did not give his full name, admits the project named it as such to draw more attention.