- Litecoin is on a mini-run, and its price has soared for the first time since July past $73 marking the first notable breakout from Bitcoin and other altcoins.
- Litecoin has shown significant volatility since the year began, with its value going through rapid growth and sharp declines.
Litecoin, often referred to as the “silver” to Bitcoin’s “gold,” has been a consistent player in the cryptocurrency space since its creation in 2011. LTC’s market capitalization stands at nearly $5.43 billion, the 20th-highest among crypto tokens, according to our data. LTC has witnessed a spike, registering its first notable breakout since July rocketing above $73 from $64.
As stated by Santiment in an X post, the gradual increase in retail interest and recent developments around Litecoin have propelled the price surge.
📈 Litecoin is enjoying a nice mini run, jumping above $73 for the first time since July. This is its first mid-sized breakout from Bitcoin and altcoins since the spring. Two major factors are:
⚡️ LTC’s continued rise of on-chain transaction volume, which has nearly crossed $4B… pic.twitter.com/oSKt7mRC2L
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) October 17, 2024
On October 15, Canary Capital, an asset manager, submitted an S-1 form to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed Litecoin Exchange-Trust-Fund. This was a record set by Canary Capital since no other U.S.-based asset manager has ventured into Exchange-Traded-Products.
According to market data analytics from Santiment, Litecoin’s on-chain volume reached a 16-month high of approximately $3.97 billion. This increase in on-chain trading activity coincided with a significant rise in online discussions about Litecoin across various social media platforms. The price of Litecoin has increased by only 1.16% over the last 24 hours to $71.98 with a market capitalization of $5.45 billion.
Reasons For the Litecoin Price Breakout
After the announcement by Canary Capital, LTC surged by over 9%, reaching a two-month high of $72.79 confirming the rising investor interest in altcoins. With the heightened optimism, fund managers have built confidence in altcoins since the Bitcoin ETFs and spot Ether ETFs were approved by the SEC earlier this year in January.
As a result of this bold move by Canary Capital, LTC will be more accessible to investors who are reluctant to manage digital assets themselves. The decision to focus on Litecoin for an ETF stems from the token’s robust performance and longevity in the blockchain space. Having maintained 100% uptime since its launch in 2011, Litecoin is known for its reliability.
With the aim to offer investors options other than holding Litecoin, the exchange-trusted fund also offers access to traditional brokerage platforms. The new ETF could boost liquidity and contribute to more stable pricing for the underlying assets. Although the company aims to expand its crypto-related offerings, gaining approval from the SEC remains uncertain, as the watchdog classifies most crypto assets aside from Bitcoin and Ethereum as securities.
The Litecoin network has seen substantial growth through key partnerships in recent times. Grayscale Investments launched the Litecoin trust, a digital currency investment product, to its clients and currently has a net asset under management of about $140 million. More so, Fidelity Crypto has been offering Litecoin services to its clients in the past.
Another notable example is Venmo, a payment service owned by PayPal Holdings Inc., which partnered with MoonPay to enable U.S.-based customers to purchase cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin.
