Litecoin (LTC) has experienced a couple of bad weeks when it comes to price growth. After reaching an all-time high in the $350s on December 19, LTC retreated. It gradually fell down toward the $210s and waded in the mid-$200s until yesterday.
Yesterday was when the turnaround began. Now, Litecoin is having the best growth day out of all the top 19 most valuable cryptocurrencies.
Over $12B worth of LTC has been sent in the last 24hr. That's almost 95% of its marketcap. See how this stacks up against the other coins. Litecoin IS the payments coin!https://t.co/oyU0PzHSdR pic.twitter.com/rsndJahaKF
— Charlie Lee [LTC] (@SatoshiLite) January 5, 2018
In the past 24 hours, LTC has gained about 20%. That brings its growth from the past week to 32%, as you can see below. It is now trading at a steady $304.40.
That brings Litecoin’s total market value to a whopping $16.6 billion. At the time of writing, that means that it is the 6th most valuable cryptocurrency worldwide.
This altcoin is having a much better run of it than some of its rival currencies. Top bitcoin alternatives that have recently stole the show – Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and TRON (TRX) – are now trading down for the day.
What’s Going on with Litecoin (LTC) and Why It’s Making a Price Comeback
This crypto coin is definitely a survivor. It was founded by a guy named Charlie Lee back in 2011, and even at that time it was already a viable and popular alternative to Bitcoin (BTC). Even after the past 6-plus years, it is somehow currently in the top 10 most-valuable ranking. Even more importantly, this coin has enjoyed some spectacular growth. It’s up 216% from one month ago, and it was trading under $30 just this summer.
That kind of growth is almost unbelievable. But it’s not just the growth that has driven investors to beef up their LTC wallets. The decentralized ledger technology bolstering LTC is actually pretty robust. It also boasts some very specific advantages over Bitcoin (BTC).
Litecoin was designed not so much to be a competitor to BTC, but rather to complement it. It was designed to work in the same payments universe as Bitcoin, which is considered the gold to Litecoin’s silver. LTC is faster and more geared toward low-value transactions compared to BTC.
How is Litecoin (LTC) Different from Other Altcoins on the Market
This coin has certainly been eclipsed by other top altcoins since a little bit before Christmas. It was a day ago that TRON (TRX) had briefly become more valuable than LTC. TRON briefly kicked it to number 8 last week. The two cryptocurrencies have somewhat been duking it out.
At least that what their owners make it seem like. Charlie Lee posted this on Thursday, clearly a clever swipe at TRX:
People keep asking me about it… fine, I will give my opinion. I loved the original TRON movie but was meh about the latest one. I feel like it is extremely hyped without a lot of substance. 😜 pic.twitter.com/KIWAR18eTn
— Charlie Lee [LTC] (@SatoshiLite) January 4, 2018
In a response, TRON’s founder Justin Sun tweeted this:
I love @SatoshiLite and @litecoin. It is a pity that @SatoshiLite has sold all of his LTC https://t.co/dWQIfWaP58 but we locked up all #TRX we have until 2020 https://t.co/stpx1rFkUR because we have confidence in #TRON and devoted our lives to it. https://t.co/oUrPtkr0Jd
— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) January 4, 2018
It’s true, Charlie Lee did in fact sell all his LTC. It was a strange decision and a lot of investors freaked out. But, defending himself, Charlie responded with this:
Congrats @justinsuntron, but you're making the wrong comparison. You've printed over 34% for yourself ($6B!) versus LTC that I bought and mined. I also didn't sell for 6 years, yet you've only locked yours up for only 2 years. Lock it up for 6 years if you're really confident! 😀 https://t.co/XyVkcasiKW
— Charlie Lee [LTC] (@SatoshiLite) January 4, 2018
TRON and LTC are both faster coins than BTC. In fact, there are a lot of super-fast and super-anonymous altcoins on the market – especially in the top-25. It’s not super clear why LTC is better than Ripple or IOTA.
Whether Litecoin will be able to keep its competition at bay is a question of time. There are a lot of hot up-and-comers. This coin has a lot of advantages, and it is already over $300. But there are sub-$5 coins that actually seem more accessible in the eyes of average Joe crypto investors.
We’re keeping our eyes on LTC.
