During the past fortnight, the crypto asset litecoin (LTC) has surged over 40% against the U.S. dollar after the crypto exchange EDX announced the listing of LTC alongside three other prominent digital currencies. Additionally, Litecoin is on the verge of a reward halving, with only 30 days remaining until its block reward subsidy decreases from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC.
Litecoin Climbs Over 40% in 2 Weeks — Network Hashrate Taps an All-Time High
Thirteen days ago, the crypto exchange EDX, with backing from Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, and Fidelity Digital Assets, revealed its plans to list four different cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, BCH, and LTC. Since the exchange’s launch, both BCH and LTC have experienced significant price increases over the past fortnight, outshining many other digital assets. In the span of 30 days, LTC has risen by 13.7%, and in the last two weeks alone, it has surged over 40% against the U.S. dollar. Year-to-date, LTC has gained 119.7%, propelling the digital currency into the top ten ranks of the crypto economy.
According to coingecko.com, LTC is currently ranked 10th, while coinmarketcap.com (CMC) places LTC in the ninth position. The discrepancy arises because coingecko.com includes lido’s staked ether (STETH) in the top ten, whereas CMC does not. As of 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on July 3, 2023, LTC is being traded between $110 and $114 per unit, with a market valuation slightly exceeding $8 billion. Among nearly 10,000 crypto assets, LTC ranks seventh in terms of global trade volume on Monday, with $1.274 billion traded within a 24-hour period. Coinbase emerges as the most active exchange for LTC trades on Monday, with the most popular LTC trading pair being tether (USDT).
Litecoin’s hashrate has also witnessed a significant increase, with approximately 100 terahash per second (TH/s) of hashpower added to the chain since June 19. At that time, the chain had a dedicated hashrate of 660 TH/s, while presently it stands at 760 TH/s. The surge in hashrate has propelled Litecoin’s hashpower to reach an all-time high this year. On June 28, 2023, specifically at block height 2,499,942, Litecoin’s hashrate reached a record-breaking 958.36 TH/s. Around 22 mining pools are involved in LTC mining, with Viabtc taking the lead by contributing a total hashrate of 254.91 TH/s over the past 24 hours.
30 Days Remain Until the Next Litecoin Halving
In the meantime, the Litecoin network is preparing for a reward halving expected to occur in 30 days, around August 3, 2023. During this event, the subsidy will be reduced by 50%, from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC. With just over 17,000 LTC blocks left until the next halving, blocks are mined on average every 2.5 minutes. Presently, there are approximately 73,280,183 LTC in circulation, with 10,717,762 blocks remaining until the block subsidy ceases. Statistics indicate that there are 7,145,978 unique addresses holding LTC today, with the top ten wallets accounting for 13.58% of the total supply. Moreover, the top 100 holders control approximately 38.58% of LTC’s entire supply, as per the current rich list data.
Similar to bitcoin cash (BCH), only time will tell whether the price, hashrate, and overall activity of the LTC network will be sustained beyond the EDX announcement and the upcoming halving. Just like bitcoin (BTC), LTC has historically experienced a price surge leading up to each block reward halving. It has been quite some time since LTC held a position in the top ten largest market caps, although it was once a prominent contender for many years in its early days. Despite LTC’s year-to-date increase of 119.7%, its current value remains 73% lower than its all-time high on May 10, 2021, when LTC reached $410 per unit.
Will litecoin’s recent surge and upcoming reward halving be the catalysts for its sustained growth? Share your thoughts on litecoin’s potential in the comments section below.
