For everyone who has been following the digital footprints of popular cryptocurrencies in the market, Litecoin (LTC) has been the coin to look out for over the last couple of days. It is rare that a coin processes $2.8 billion in transactions over $100K daily and exceeds 50% of its market cap, outperforming most Layer 1s, including Dogecoin. There are speculations that the price of LTC is about to go over the roof, but what exactly is fuelling its performance?
What Makes LTC Worthy of Attention?
Litecoin, often hailed as the silver to Bitcoin’s gold, is one of the oldest altcoins inspired by Bitcoin back in 2011. It is a blockchain and cryptocurrency that was forked from Bitcoin and intended to be used primarily as a payment method. It is open-source and boasts lower transaction fees and faster transactions, rendering it suitable in many use cases.
Litecoin has been used in peer-to-peer transactions, trading on decentralized exchanges, e-commerce, DeFi, and even gaming at LTC casino sites. These online gambling platforms allow users to deposit and withdraw funds using Litecoin. It has since become the preferred option over fiat and other cryptocurrencies, mostly due to the ease and speed of the transactions on its blockchain. The popularity of LTC continues to fuel the development of these platforms, and as these platforms grow, so does the popularity of LTC.
Additionally, it seems that the crypto market is gearing up for altcoins as Bitcoin’s dominance dips. With Litecoin leading the pack as a trusted, secure, and speedy Blockchain network, there is more than one reason for big-wallet investors to keep looking in its direction.
Popular Meme Coin, DOGE, has Nothing on LTC?
Dogecoin was forked from Litecoin just like Litecoin was forked from Bitcoin. Both coins are based on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm, but they have slightly different appeals.
When it comes to meme coins, DogeCoin is one of the leading coins, with a market cap of over $15 Billion. In contrast, Litecoin has a market cap of about $5 Billion, meaning Dogecoin has roughly three times the market cap of LTC. In spite of this, data from In the Block’s on-chain activity analysis reveal that DOGE has just about $590 million in large transactions in comparison to LTC’s $2.85 billion. Undoubtedly, Dogecoin has captured public attention with the social media hype around it, but it seems that Litecoin is where those with the big wallets are transacting.
It is quite interesting to see this surge of investor activity on the LTC network. As of late May, LTC’s price had dipped by about 8%. Around the same time, more investors created new wallets numbering close to four hundred thousand on the network, signalling that people were buying the dip. But why?
What Does the Future Hold for Litecoin?
While Litecoin offers some impressive security features, and its lower transaction fees make it attractive to payment platforms and local and offshore casinos alike, we cannot credit just these factors for the new wave of attention on LTC.
In the past six years, Litecoin has undergone two halvings. With the increased demand for the coin despite limited supply, it is expected that Litecoin will grow in value. Predictions for the coin are consistent growth for the rest of the year and beyond. Litecoin’s strong fundamentals and adaptability to real-world use cases give it an edge over meme coins like DOGE.
Massive on-chain activity on the LTC network suggests investors are gearing up for months of massive gains ahead. But if there is anything every crypto enthusiast knows, it is never to try to predict the future. So, keep your fingers crossed.