Quai vs Litecoin
Litecoin is a payment coin with 2.5-minute blocks and no smart contracts. Quai confirms in about 5 seconds, runs the EVM, and has two tokens. Litecoin's own Scrypt miners can mine Quai, and each Litecoin block that they find through SOAP buys and burns QUAI.
Facts reviewed in November 2026.
Where Quai is stronger
Blocks 30 times faster
A Quai block arrives about every 5 seconds. A Litecoin block arrives about every 2.5 minutes.
A full platform
Litecoin does payments only. Quai runs the EVM, so tokens, exchanges, and applications run on the proof-of-work chain.
Litecoin blocks buy QUAI
When a Quai miner finds a Litecoin block through SOAP, the Litecoin reward buys QUAI on the open market, and that QUAI is burned.
Lower supply growth
In its third year, QUAI supply is projected to grow 8.3%. Litecoin's supply grew 49.4% at the same age.
Money to save and money to spend
QUAI is the store of value, with emission that slows as the network grows. Qi is cash whose supply follows mining difficulty and the cost of energy. One network does both jobs.
At a glance
| Property | Quai (QUAI) | Litecoin (LTC) |
|---|---|---|
| Consensus | Proof of work, with PoEM consensus | Proof of work, longest chain by total work |
| Secured by | Miners with SHA-256, Scrypt, or KawPoW hardware | Miners with Scrypt hardware, merge-mined with Dogecoin |
| Block time | About 5 seconds | About 2.5 minutes |
| Smart contracts | Yes. The EVM runs on the base layer. | No general smart contracts on the base layer |
| Supply | Emission slows as the network grows, and SOAP buybacks burn QUAI. 1.9 billion genesis QUAI was burned. | Fixed cap of 84 million. The block reward halves about every 4 years. |
| Launched | February 2025 | October 2011 |
| Supply growth, year 3 | 8.3% (projected) | 49.4% |
| Revenue, 12 months | $6.0M | None. Fees and block rewards go to miners. |
Revenue is protocol revenue for the last 12 months from DefiLlama. Quai's revenue is the value of the other chains' block rewards that SOAP used to buy QUAI. Supply growth compares each network in its third year after launch, from the QUAI tokenomics post.
How the two connect
Litecoin is a SOAP parent chain. Scrypt miners who point hardware at Quai also find Litecoin and Dogecoin blocks in the same work. The miner is paid in QUAI, and the hashrate adds to the security of those chains.
Questions people ask
Can Litecoin miners mine Quai?
Yes. Scrypt hardware mines Quai. Through SOAP, the same work also finds Litecoin and Dogecoin blocks, and the rewards from those blocks buy QUAI. The miner is paid in QUAI.
Does SOAP take anything from Litecoin?
No. SOAP miners find valid Litecoin blocks in the normal way, and their hashrate adds to Litecoin's security. Only the reward from blocks that SOAP miners find is used to buy QUAI.
Does Litecoin have smart contracts?
Not general ones on the base layer. Quai runs the EVM, so Solidity contracts work on it.
More comparisons
Sources
This page gives information only. It is not financial advice. See the disclaimers.