Why is Litecoin Up 30% This Week?

Cryptocurrencies have been decimated the past few weeks as a result of the collapse of FTX. But at least one major cryptocurrency has seen sizable gains in that time period – Litecoin. Litecoin has risen by over 30% over the past few days. There's obviously something going on with Litecoin to cause this price increase. This article will examine why Litecoin has risen so much over the past few days. 

Why Has Litecoin Increased 30%?

One of the main causes of Litecoin increasing so much is that whale wallets have been accumulating a lot of Litecoin over the past few weeks. Just over the past few weeks these whale wallets have acquired over $40 million worth of Litecoin – that's a lot for such a short amount of time and has contributed to the price increase. 

That's part of the reason, but not the only reason for the price increase. Litecoin also has a halving in about 8 months. This means the block reward for mining a Litecoin block will be halved. Just like in Bitcoin, the halving is usually followed by an increase in price of the coin. 

Investors all know about this upcoming halving and likely are stocking up on coins before it occurs because the price typically increases after it. 

So, the accumulation of Litecoin by whales and the general market purchasing it because of the upcoming halving have contributed to the rise in Litecoin's price. 

Who Are The Whales Purchasing Litecoin?

One of the beauties of cryptocurrency is information like who purchases cryptocurrency can remain anonymous if proper measures are taken when purchasing and selling the cryptocurrencies. We have not been able to find any information about the identities of the whale wallets purchasing large amounts of Litecoin. 

It's likely just moderately wealthy people and/or hedge funds making an investment in it. Litecoin is not nearly as popular with institutions as Bitcoin, but this could be institutions purchasing Litecoin before some sort of major announcement or media agenda to promote Litecoin. 

There's really no way to know without in-depth blockchain analysis nor is that information particularly relevant to anything.  

Is Litecoin a Good Investment?

Litecoin hit a high of $380 in early 2021, which is a long way off from where it currently stands at $80. With that in mind, if you believe that Litecoin can exceed its all-time high, then now is definitely the time to buy it. Many in the Litecoin community certainly believe that now is only the beginning of a massive bull run for the cryptocurrency. 

We are not so confident that Litecoin can hit that all-time high in the near future. Our biggest concern is that the world economy appears to be heading for a recession and we are not sure how cryptocurrency will behave in a recession. 

Litecoin is a legitimate project and quite useful, so it's certainly possible that it could reach its all time high. It's not a bad investment by any means, but it does have a risk. You should analyze the situation and make your own determination before making an investment in any cryptocurrency. 

Can Litecoin Surpass Bitcoin?

Litecoin is actually better than Bitcoin as a currency because it has lower fees and faster transaction times. Bitcoin, however, reigns supreme because it has more investment in the infrastructure and a much stronger community. 

Bitcoin also has far more institutional money and support for it. 

Basically, Litecoin is better technology, but Bitcoin has far more support and a much stronger community. Litecoin is likely undervalued according to most experts. It will just struggle to surpass Bitcoin because Bitcoin has so much first mover advantage and that is very difficult to overcome. 

Final Thoughts

This is the best news Litecoin has had in months and the entire Litecoin community is excited about the price increase. This shows that not all cryptocurrencies go in lockstep with Bitcoin and the greater market. Major events in their ecosystem can cause the price to increase even when Bitcoin is underperforming. 

This also shows why it's sometimes a good idea to diversify your crypto investment. This obviously does not occur all the time, but it's nice to see that cryptocurrencies can make it on their own on occasion.