Litecoin will receive smart contract capabilities through Flare Networks, according to a tweet from the latter project.

Flare Networks Adds Smart Contracts

Flare Networks states that it will introduce the feature ahead of its launch in Q2 2021. It says that this will allow Litecoin to be used on Flare “with Ethereum-style smart contracts,” noting that this will provide Litecoin with “interoperability and composability.”

Though Flare Networks has not yet announced precisely what developers will be able to do with smart contracts, it is likely that Litecoin developers will be able to create decentralized applications (dApps) similar to those found on Ethereum.

Flare Networks will also airdrop tokens to Litecoin holders. The project will reallocate 5 billion FLR tokens from its own holdings in order to pay those who participate in the airdrop.

Flare is also working to integrate smart contracts with XRP Ledger in a similar way. It will release tokens from that airdrop later this year.

Is the Project Viable?

Flare is a third-party project, but the Litecoin Foundation has acknowledged its efforts, noting that it is “very excited to see the capability of smart contracts and interoperability” coming via Flare.

However, other third parties have pursued similar goals with little fanfare. In 2018, Litecoin leader Charlie Lee previously acknowledged Litecoin support for smart contracts through a different platform, Abra. Those smart contracts were limited to certain functions on the Abra trading platform.

Flare’s smart contracts will seemingly be much more full-featured. Still, it is not clear that Flare-based smart contracts will be widely used or become highly visible when the project goes live.

At the time of writing this author held less than $60 of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins.

Shutterstock photo by Pasuwan.