- Litecoin whales have been accumulating LTC, which has been the primary catalyst for its surge to levels last seen before its halving event in August last year.
- Analysts believe that as Bitcoin edges closer to its halving, some miners are readying their mining rigs to migrate to more profitable chains, including Litecoin.
Litecoin has slipped between the cracks in the crypto world, and despite being one of the oldest and most valuable cryptocurrencies, it has lost its shine to other projects. However, as the Bitcoin halving nears, it could be Litecoin’s opportunity to surge to levels last before its own halving last year.
LTC trades at $85.26 at press time, gaining just below 1.6% on the day and 3.4% this past week. Its volume has, however, taken a massive hit, being cut by half to $593 million.
This past week, LTC hit a high of $94.56, the highest price it has reached since last July, just before its halving in early August when its block reward halved from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC. Predictably, a sell-the-news dump ensued after the halving, with Litecoin’s price dipping below $60 two weeks later for the first time in over a year. Whales dumped 1.2 million LTC in the five months that followed, suppressing any momentum the token could get going.
After that, the crypto struggled to catch up, and despite the entire market engaging in a bull rally, LTC’s price made modest gains.
Litecoin Whales Spark LTC Surge
LTC has soared in the current market rally. Since February 25, it has gained 20%, pushing its market cap beyond $6.32 billion. As Crypto News Flash reported, traders have been massively bullish.
Litecoin whales have contributed to the price surge. Addresses holding at least 100,000 LTC, worth $8.5 million at current prices, have started accumulating tokens since late January. Throughout February, these addresses have continued accumulating for a total rise of 1.7 million LTC. This comes within touching distance of their all-time high Litcoin holding—they are shy by just 40,000.
As the chart from Santiment below shows, the accumulation by these whales has been the deciding factor in Litecoin’s momentum change.
A critical factor in the current rise has been the upcoming BTC halving. This event will slash down by half the reward miners get for every block. In response, some miners are expected to shift some of their mining resources to other proof-of-work blockchains.
These PoW chains, including Kaspa and Bitcoin Cash, have recorded significant growth. However, the effect won’t last long, especially not with Litecoin, as its halving dynamics correlate with Bitcoin’s.
Litecoin’s next target price is $100, and, according to the triangular price pattern below, it could hit this landmark soon. The ascending trendline on the chart below has held for close to two years and indicates a continued pattern of higher lows for LTC, eventually pushing it past $100.
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