Monero vs Litecoin (MWEB): how private is each?
Litecoin is a transparent, Bitcoin-like coin with an optional privacy layer called MWEB, active since May 2022. Monero is private for every transaction by default. Litecoin is easier to buy and widely accepted; Monero gives stronger, automatic privacy but is harder to get on exchanges.
Monero vs Litecoin at a glance
| Feature | Monero (XMR) | Litecoin (LTC) |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | April 2014 | October 2011 |
| Privacy | Mandatory: stealth addresses, ring signatures, hidden amounts | Transparent by default; optional MWEB layer hides amounts and addresses inside it |
| Coins using privacy | All | About 519,000 to 563,000 LTC in MWEB in September 2026 (CryptoTicker, citing an MWEB explorer) |
| Supply | No cap; 0.6 XMR per block forever | 84 million cap; 6.25 LTC per block since the August 2023 halving |
| Block time | About 2 minutes | About 2.5 minutes |
| Mining | RandomX (CPU) | Scrypt (ASIC), merge-mined with Dogecoin |
| Exchange support | Widely delisted | Widely listed; some exchanges do not accept MWEB deposits |
| Wallets | Monero wallets only (Cake, Feather, Monerujo, GUI) | Most crypto wallets; MWEB only in some (Litecoin Core, Cake Wallet) |
What MWEB is
MWEB stands for MimbleWimble Extension Blocks. It activated on the Litecoin network on 20 May 2022 (The Block, 8 Jun 2022). It runs alongside the normal, transparent Litecoin chain. Users who do nothing stay on the transparent chain.
To use it, you "peg in" coins from a normal address to an MWEB address, which is longer and has its own prefix. Inside MWEB, amounts and addresses are hidden. When you "peg out", coins return to the transparent chain. Both peg-ins and peg-outs are ordinary Litecoin transactions that observers can see, so timing and amounts at the edges can reveal links.
Privacy: opt-in layer vs private by default
Monero has no transparent mode. Every user's transactions blend with everyone else's, and exchanges and merchants see the same kind of private transaction as everyone else.
MWEB is a real privacy improvement for Litecoin, but it is opt-in, and only a fraction of LTC uses it. Litecoin's total supply is in the tens of millions of coins, while MWEB held around half a million in September 2026. That number grew more than fivefold from the under-100,000 LTC seen through 2024, but the anonymity set is still small. Many wallets and most exchanges only use the transparent chain.
Hardware wallet support for MWEB is also only partial, and a wallet without MWEB support may not show that part of your balance after a restore, even though the coins are not lost (CryptoTicker, 24 Sep 2026).
If privacy is the main goal, Monero gives it with less effort and fewer chances to make a mistake. Read is Monero traceable? for Monero's own limits.
Exchanges and regulation
MWEB caused friction soon after launch. In June 2022 Upbit, Bithumb and other South Korean exchanges announced they would delist Litecoin, citing the new privacy feature (The Block, 8 Jun 2022). On 13 June 2022 Binance warned that LTC sent to it from MWEB would not be credited or returned (The Block, 13 Jun 2022). Litecoin itself remains listed on almost every major exchange because its main chain stays transparent.
Monero has been delisted much more widely: Binance on 20 February 2024, Kraken in the EEA on 31 October 2024 and others, listed in our delisting tracker. If you deposit LTC to an exchange, always send from a normal (non-MWEB) address unless the exchange clearly says it supports MWEB.
Fees, speed and supply
Both coins have low fees. Monero transactions are larger, but fees typically stay around 0.00003 XMR; see Monero fees. Litecoin blocks are slightly slower than Monero's (2.5 vs 2 minutes), and Monero adds a 10-block lock before received funds can be spent.
Litecoin follows Bitcoin's model with a hard cap of 84 million and halvings every four years. Monero pays 0.6 XMR per block forever; see Monero supply.
Using Litecoin to get Monero
Because Litecoin is easy to buy and cheap to send, many people buy LTC on a regulated exchange, withdraw it to their own wallet and swap it to XMR where that is legal. Cake Wallet holds both coins and supports MWEB since version 4.20.0 (2024). The process is similar to swapping BTC to XMR. Rules on swaps and privacy coins differ by country, so check is Monero legal? first.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Litecoin if you want a cheap, fast, widely accepted coin that you can buy almost anywhere, with privacy as an occasional extra.
- Choose Monero if you want every payment to be private without extra steps and you are prepared to get it through swaps or peer-to-peer trading.
- Use both if you want an easy on-ramp (LTC) and private spending (XMR) in one wallet.
Frequently asked questions
Is Litecoin MWEB as private as Monero?
No. MWEB hides amounts and addresses inside the extension block, but it is opt-in, peg-ins and peg-outs are visible, and only a small share of LTC uses it. Monero is private for every transaction by default.
When did Litecoin MWEB launch?
MWEB activated on 20 May 2022. Several South Korean exchanges announced Litecoin delistings in June 2022 in response.
Can I send MWEB Litecoin to an exchange?
Often not. Binance warned in June 2022 that MWEB deposits would not be credited or returned. Peg out to a normal Litecoin address first unless your exchange explicitly supports MWEB.
Which wallet supports both Monero and Litecoin MWEB?
Cake Wallet supports Monero and Litecoin, including MWEB since version 4.20.0 in 2024. Download it only from the official site or app store and check the publisher.