Seven Years of Litecoin: Consumer Payments Data Report (2018–2025 YTD)
Executive Summary
Litecoin has been part of the CoinGate payment ecosystem since 2018, when it became the second cryptocurrency we integrated after Bitcoin. Seven years later, it remains one of the most consistently used digital assets for payments – firmly holding its place in the top three payment methods on our platform.
The data shows why. After a breakout year in 2021, when processed Litecoin orders grew 521% compared to 2020, usage has stayed strong even as market cycles and merchant mixes changed. In 2024, we saw another surge with 52.7% year-over-year growth, proving that Litecoin adoption is not a one-off phenomenon but a lasting trend.
In 2025 so far (Jan–Aug specifically), Litecoin accounts for 13.9% of all payments on CoinGate, behind only Bitcoin (23%) and USDT (21.2%). For a brief period in June–July 2025, it even rose to second place, overtaking USDT as regulatory implications affected stablecoin usage.
The profile of Litecoin shoppers is diverse. Orders most often come from the US (23.8%), Germany (8%), and Nigeria (7.1%), with a mix of European and international demand. Average cart sizes currently stand at €44.5, close to the sweet spot for digital services, with peaks in previous years reaching over €50.
Industries relying most on Litecoin are web hosting (31.2%), proxies (22.2%), and gaming (19.3%). Within the proxy niche, Litecoin is often the leading currency of choice. At PlainProxies, Ping Proxies, and Thunderproxy, Litecoin accounts for the largest share of all crypto and even traditional currency orders, outpacing Euro, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins alike.
On the merchant side, payment settlement preferences show a mix of caution and confidence. In 2025, merchants kept 5% of the received LTC instead of converting it to other currencies during payment – the highest level since 2022. The majority still convert, most often to EUR (73.5%), followed by BTC (6.9%), USDC (6.8%), and USD (5.2%).
Taken together, the data tells a clear story: Litecoin has carved out its own loyal base of shoppers and industries and demonstrates staying power through bull and bear cycles alike, and is able to compete with traditional payment rails in certain industries, such as proxy or web hosting.
For many merchants, enabling Litecoin became a direct line to a committed and active segment of global customers.
Key Takeaways and Highlights (2018–2025 YTD):
- 521% YoY growth in 2021 (strongest expansion year)
- 52.7% YoY growth in 2024 (second-strongest)
- Top-3 payment method since 2023 (briefly #2 in mid-2025)
- 13.9% share of all payments in 2025 YTD
- Avg cart size €44.5 in 2025; peak avg €52 in 2022
- Largest shopper bases in 2025: US, Germany, Nigeria, UK, Netherlands
- Top industries: Web hosting 31.2%, Proxies 22.2%, Gaming 19.3%
- In proxy sector, LTC is the #1 currency at PlainProxies, Ping Proxies & Thunderproxy in 2025
- In 2025, 5% of LTC payments were kept on balance sheets instead of being converted to other currencies – the highest share between 2022 and 2025.
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Methodology & Definitions
Litecoin was integrated into our system in 2018 as the second supported cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, giving us a seven-year view of its adoption and usage patterns. This report is based on 638,983 LTC payments processed by merchants using CoinGate between 2018 and August 2025.
To ensure consistency, we use the following definitions throughout the report:
- Processed orders – successful customer payments completed via CoinGate in Litecoin.
- Payment share – Litecoin’s percentage of all crypto payments processed through CoinGate within a given timeframe.
- Average cart size – the mean value of individual orders paid in Litecoin, converted into euros at the time of the transaction.
- Settlement preferences – how merchants choose to handle the Litecoin they collect (keeping it in LTC, converting to fiat, or converting to another cryptocurrency).
Note that multiple external factors influence usage trends. For example:
- Market cycles: The bull run of 2021 coincided with significant growth in Litecoin orders.
- Merchant onboarding: Large merchants joining CoinGate in certain years boosted overall order volumes.
- Regulatory environment: In 2025, stablecoin usage was temporarily reduced due to regulatory implications on USDT in the EU, allowing Litecoin to climb into second place among all payment methods.
- Broader Litecoin network adoption: Litecoin network is showing rapid growth signs throughout the years and especially in 2025.
Long-Term Adoption Arc (2018–2025 YTD)
Integration and Early Years (2018–2020)
Litecoin joined CoinGate in 2018, just after Bitcoin, as one of the earliest assets offered for payments. The first few years were relatively quiet, with adoption modest but steady.
These early years established Litecoin’s role as a fast, reliable alternative to Bitcoin, appealing to shoppers who valued speed and lower transaction fees.
Breakout Year: 2021
The turning point came in 2021. Litecoin payments surged by 521% compared to 2020, the single largest year of growth in its history on CoinGate. Several factors contributed to this:
- The wider crypto bull market, which increased general payment activity.
- The integration of larger merchants into the CoinGate ecosystem (browse our merchants in CoinGate’s Merchant Directory).
- Litecoin’s positioning as a low-fee, high-speed option, making it attractive during periods of network congestion for other coins.
During this year, Litecoin even rose to the #2 spot in overall popularity, overtaking Ethereum for the first and only time.
Consolidation & Rank Dynamics (2022–2025)
By 2022, the landscape shifted again. Bitcoin, USDT, and Ethereum all held stronger shares, pushing Litecoin temporarily to fourth place. Still, Litecoin maintained high usage, showing resilience even as competition from stablecoins intensified.
In 2023, Litecoin climbed back into the #3 position, where it has remained consistently since. The following year, 2024, brought another major leap forward with 52.7% year-over-year growth in processed orders – the second-best growth year on record for LTC. This confirmed that Litecoin’s relevance in crypto payments is not tied to a single event or cycle but has structural staying power that persists.
The broader network data supports this resilience. The total number of LTC transactions hit 300 million in January 2025, with roughly 14% of all transactions since 2011 occurring in 2025 alone. In addition, as the institutional DeFi platform, Sentora, noted, more than one million new Litecoin addresses with a balance were added in just 18 months, which is objectively strong evidence that Litecoin’s user base continues to expand alongside its role in payments.
2025 YTD Snapshot
From January through August 2025, Litecoin has continued to perform strongly, accounting for 13.9% of all CoinGate payments.
While it sits behind Bitcoin (23%) and USDT (21.2%) overall, it briefly reached second place in June and July, when regulatory implications reduced stablecoin usage. With all considered, it’s plausible to assume that Litecoin is often used as a trusted fallback currency that shoppers turn to when other options are restricted or become unavailable.
2025 YTD: What’s Happening Now (Jan–Aug)
In the first eight months of 2025, Litecoin has maintained its position as one of the most important payment methods on CoinGate. It accounts for 13.9% of all processed payments, ranking firmly in third place behind Bitcoin (23%) and USDT (21.2%).
What stands out this year is Litecoin’s ability to react to market shifts. In June and July 2025, Litecoin briefly climbed into the #2 spot, overtaking USDT. The reason wasn’t a sudden surge in Litecoin activity alone, but a drop in stablecoin usage linked to aforementioned regulatory implications in the EU.
The month-by-month data shows this adaptability clearly. Litecoin payments remain steady across the year, with higher usage when competing assets face headwinds. Rather than being a marginal alternative, Litecoin has proven it can capture meaningful share when circumstances change, which is a clear sign of resilience and user trust.
This resilience is also visible on the network level. According to the Litecoin Foundation’s insights, the coin’s hashrate reached new highs in 2025, peaking at 3.79 PH/s in March and stabilizing near 3 PH/s mid-year. Strong mining security reinforces confidence in using LTC as a payment rail.
From a business perspective, this means Litecoin can be considered as a strategic option that helps ensure continuity of payments when the wider crypto environment becomes uncertain. This role as a stabilizing force makes Litecoin highly valuable for merchants looking to minimize friction at checkout.
Who Pays with LTC? Shopper Geography (2025 YTD)
Litecoin’s shopper base is broad, spanning both developed and emerging markets. From January to August 2025, the United States was by far the largest source of Litecoin payments, making up 23.8% of all LTC orders through CoinGate.
Europe also plays a major role, with Germany (8%), the United Kingdom (5.8%), the Netherlands (5%), France (3.7%), and Poland (2.9%) all contributing strong shares. Together, these countries highlight Litecoin’s ongoing relevance within the EU, where cross-border digital commerce continues to grow.
Outside of Western markets, Nigeria stands out at 7.1%, making it the third-largest source of Litecoin orders. This is a clear signal that Litecoin resonates with users in regions where access to global payment networks can be limited. Other emerging contributors include India (2%) and Australia (2%), alongside smaller but steady flows from Canada and other countries.
Looking for deeper insights into regional crypto payment trends? Explore our 2025 Regional Data Report.
This geographic mix reflects Litecoin’s dual appeal:
- In advanced economies, it’s valued for efficiency, speed, and low fees compared to legacy payment rails.
- In emerging markets, it offers reliability and accessibility, often serving as one of the few practical ways to pay for global digital services.
The result is a truly international payment method. Unlike stablecoins, which often skew toward regions with higher regulatory uncertainty, or Bitcoin, which is increasingly seen as a store of value, Litecoin maintains balanced usage across diverse geographies.
What Do They Buy? Industries & Merchants (2025 YTD)
Litecoin payments on CoinGate are strongly tied to digital-first industries where speed, low costs, and global reach matter most. From January to August 2025, three verticals dominate:
- Web hosting – 31.2% of all LTC orders
- Proxies – 22.2%
- Gaming – 19.3%
Together, these account for nearly three-quarters of all Litecoin transactions. They’re followed by consumer goods (6%), VPN services (4%), computers (3.7%), IT services (3.5%), and other categories (10.2%).
Leading Merchants
A few merchants stand out as consistent leaders in terms of Litecoin usage:
- Eldorado.gg (Gaming) – 18.7% of all LTC orders processed by CoinGate (read a full Eldorado.gg case study).
- Hostinger (Web hosting) – 13.9% of all LTC orders at CoinGate.
- IPRoyal (Proxies) – 9% of all LTC orders (the last time we checked, over 30% of all payments at IPRoyal are paid with crypto. Read the full IPRoyal success story).
These businesses reflect where Litecoin fits naturally: affordable digital services that attract repeat customers worldwide.
Merchants Where Litecoin Leads the Pack
In some cases, Litecoin is the dominant payment choice:
- At PlainProxies, 36.5% of all crypto payments are made in LTC, the highest share of any currency.
- At Ping Proxies, Litecoin makes up 23.5% of payments, again the #1 option.
- At Thunderproxy, Litecoin represents 26.1% of all orders, more than BTC, ETH, or stablecoins.
Evidently, this pattern is especially strong in the proxy industry, where customer demand for pseudonymity, speed, and low transaction fees aligns perfectly with Litecoin’s characteristics. For these merchants, enabling LTC directly influences sales volume and customer retention.
Note that this data is gathered from numerous case studies CoinGate have conducted over the years with clients that use our crypto payment solutions.
Feel free to find even more stories and industry insights in our other success stories, including PlainProxies, Ping Proxies, Thunderproxy, and more. Alternatively, read the summary of our most recent crypto payment studies.
Why These Verticals Fit LTC
The industries where Litecoin thrives all share key traits:
- Global audiences that rely on borderless payment options.
- Digital delivery, meaning no friction between order and fulfillment.
- Price points in the €40–€50 range, which align closely with Litecoin’s 2025 average cart size (€44.5).
In short, Litecoin has carved out a sweet spot as the currency of choice for customers paying for recurring, digital-first services – making it especially valuable to merchants in hosting, proxies, and gaming.
Cart Sizes & Purchase Behavior
Litecoin payments on CoinGate reveal consistent spending patterns that make it a practical option for everyday digital purchases.
In 2025 so far (Jan–Aug), the average cart size is €44.5. This fits neatly into the typical price range for hosting subscriptions, proxy packages, and digital gaming services. The peak average was recorded in 2022, at €52 per order, showing that Litecoin has long aligned with mid-sized online purchases rather than high-value one-offs.
At the same time, extremes exist on both ends of the spectrum:
- The smallest order ever processed in Litecoin dates back to 2021 – just 0.0009 LTC (€0.26 at the time).
- Larger transactions appear occasionally, especially in web hosting, where customers often pay for longer-term or enterprise-grade services in one go.
These figures underline two key points:
- Litecoin is versatile. It can handle microtransactions just as easily as mid-range or bulk service purchases.
- Most usage clusters around digital service price points, suggesting that Litecoin is especially well-suited for merchants selling products or subscriptions in the €40–€50 range.
For businesses, this purchasing behavior is valuable. It means that Litecoin attracts repeat customers with regular spending habits, while still being able to support larger orders when needed. That combination of flexibility and predictability is one of the reasons Litecoin has maintained its strong position over the years.
Merchant Treasury Choices: Settlements & Conversions
How merchants handle the Litecoin they collect reveals another important layer of adoption: do they treat LTC as a currency to hold, or primarily as a bridge to other assets and fiat?
From 2022 to 2025, the data shows a clear trend: while most merchants still convert Litecoin, an increasing share are comfortable keeping it.
- In 2025, 5% of LTC orders received were kept on merchants’ balance sheets, the highest level since we began tracking these preferences in detail.
- The majority, however, chose to convert. In 2025 so far, settlements have been directed mainly into:
- EUR – 73.5%
- BTC – 6.9%
- USDC – 6.8%
- USD – 5.2%
- Keep LTC – 5%
- Others – 2.6%
By comparison, in 2024, the share converted to EUR was even higher (79.12%), which shows that this year merchants are slightly more willing to diversify into other cryptos or to keep Litecoin itself.
This behavior reflects a balance between risk management and opportunity:
- Risk management → Most merchants want predictable accounting in fiat, especially EUR, which dominates as the settlement choice.
- Opportunity → A small but growing group of merchants is either holding Litecoin directly or converting it into other cryptocurrencies like BTC or USDC, suggesting confidence in LTC’s long-term utility or crypto treasury strategies in general.
For businesses, the takeaway is clear: enabling Litecoin gives merchants flexibility in treasury management, whether they want to hedge, hold, or convert instantly.
The June–July 2025 Spike Explained
One of the most notable shifts in Litecoin’s recent history occurred during the summer of 2025. For two months – June and July – Litecoin temporarily became the second most popular payment method on CoinGate, surpassing USDT.
The reason wasn’t a sudden surge of new Litecoin users, but rather a sharp drop in stablecoin payments, particularly USDT, as regulatory implications began to limit its use in certain markets. During this period, Litecoin effectively absorbed part of that demand, showing its role as a dependable substitute when shoppers face restrictions with other assets.
This moment highlights a key strength of Litecoin: it has the liquidity, infrastructure, and trust to serve as a fallback payment rail. When one of the top coins falters, Litecoin is well-positioned to pick up the slack, ensuring customers can still complete their transactions and merchants don’t lose sales.
While Bitcoin and stablecoins continue to dominate the global narrative, the June–July data shows that Litecoin’s position in the payments ecosystem is unique. It’s a safety net that stabilizes transaction flow, proving its resilience in the face of market or regulatory disruptions.
What This Means for Businesses (Actionable Takeaways)
Looking at seven years of data, one conclusion is clear: Litecoin has earned its place as a core payment method. For merchants, this should suffice as a set of actionable insights.
1. Keep Litecoin enabled and visible
LTC has been a top-3 crypto payment option since 2021, with usage that persists through both bull and bear markets. Shoppers expect to see it at checkout, and disabling it could mean lost conversions.
2. Match your pricing to customer behavior
With an average cart size around €44–€50, Litecoin payments align closely with digital subscriptions and service tiers. Merchants can optimize offers – such as monthly hosting packages or proxy bundles – around this sweet spot.
3. Recognize industry fit
The data shows Litecoin thrives in web hosting, proxies, and gaming, where digital, global, and repeat purchases dominate. If you’re in these sectors, highlighting LTC as a preferred option could directly increase sales.
4. Pay attention to substitution effects
The June–July 2025 spike demonstrated that Litecoin can absorb demand when other currencies face disruptions. Having it available ensures payment continuity and reduces risk when stablecoins or other assets are under pressure.
5. Consider treasury flexibility
More merchants than ever are choosing to keep Litecoin or convert it into BTC or USDC instead of immediately cashing out to fiat. This suggests growing confidence in its long-term role. Businesses can treat LTC not only as a checkout option but also as a tool for diversified treasury management.
Bottom line: Litecoin is proving to be a reliable, adaptable, and revenue-driving asset for merchants across industries. For businesses that want to reach digital-first, global customers, keeping Litecoin at checkout is essential.
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