- The Litecoin network hashrate surged to an all-time high last week with social activity on the blockchain picking up fast.
- The Litecoin price surged to $114 this week with analysts giving bullish calls ahead of the halving.
One altcoin that’s made big moves over the past week grabbing investors’ attention is Litecoin (LTC). Litecoin has climbed the ranks to become the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
As of press time, LTC is trading at $107 with a market cap of $7.9 billion. On the weekly chart, the Litecoin price is up by over 34 percent, outperforming all of the other top ten cryptocurrencies.
The recent price rally in LTC comes as the Litecoin network hashrate surged to a new all-time high last week, ahead of the Litecoin halving event. Last Tuesday, June 27, the Litecoin hashrate reached a high of 958 tera hashes per second. Currently, it is at 780.95 TH/s.
In June, the amount of computing power dedicated to mining Litecoin greatly increased, resulting in a higher hashrate. As a result, the mining difficulty has also risen, making it more challenging to discover new blocks. Miners have reacted by adding more machines to enhance their chances of finding blocks, thus contributing to the increased hashrate.
Litecoin’s price has seen a significant rise of approximately 53 percent since the beginning of the year, reaching its highest point for the year at $114.50 on July 3. The upcoming halving event, where the block rewards for miners are reduced, has generated excitement and raised expectations for potential future price increases.
Litecoin Halving Event
The bullish sentiment for Litecoin among crypto investors could be due to the upcoming halving event in the Litecoin blockchain scheduled around mid-August 2023. The halving event will reduce the mining rewards to half from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC per block.
As the supply of Litecoin decreases and scarcity increases, it is causing the prices to rise. This reduction in supply is expected to make Litecoin even more valuable, with analysts expecting the LTC price to surge to $150 post the halving event.
This milestone could have a ripple effect on the entire crypto market, as positive sentiment and profits from Litecoin may spill over to other cryptocurrencies, leading to a significant rally.
Santiment, a blockchain analytics firm, has noticed a rise in social activity volume that aligns with the increase in Litecoin’s price. This indicates a connection between price surges and growing interest and engagement within the cryptocurrency community.
⚡ #Litecoin is under 5 weeks away from its #halving, taking place on August 3rd. Prices have suddenly soared for $LTC, blasting off for a +26% in just over a day. Watch for mainstream #FOMO, as this usually foreshadows local tops until crowds calm down. https://t.co/KljBpjVy3C pic.twitter.com/7kDqEpyZjz
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) July 1, 2023
However, this is not the first time that the LTC price is trading above $100 in 2023. Previously, when LTC surpassed this psychological milestone, it soon faced selling pressure thereafter. Some on-chain indicators caution regarding the same.
The 30-day MVRV data for Litecoin shows that historically, a 30-40 percent correction usually follows such price gains.
Currently, #Litecoin MVRV 30D hovers around 35%.
Historically, each time $LTC MVRV 30D exceeds the 30% mark since 2018, a sharp price correction typically follows! This usually translates to a #LTC price drop ranging from 30% to 40%. pic.twitter.com/R5oMMaKWGc
— Ali (@ali_charts) July 2, 2023