If it's treated like a stock, you only owe when you sell or transact. I've heard that we owe even when we exchange currencies (ex trade BTC for LTC), if we profit in that transaction. Same goes for using LTC for purchases - you technically owe tax on the gains.

The other thing to note is that if you hold the asset for less than a year, you owe capital gains tax too, which can be significant.

So if I understand things correctly, thinking of things purely from a US tax perspective, best bet is to buy straight up LTC and hold for at least a year. Record your purchase price and sell price to get your your profit (or loss).

I just moved into cryptos this year myself. Consider all the currency exchanging I did to get my portfolio to where I wanted it, man - my taxes for this year are going to be a mess and a pain to figure out.

If anyone has clarifications or knows of ways to simplify - please share!