Litecoin (LTC) is a cryptocurrency launched in 2011. It is a Bitcoin fork with the goal of improving transactions by making them faster, cheaper, and more secure. It was also intended to be more miner-friendly. However, the appearance of ASIC Litecoin miners made solo mining with a regular computer unprofitable.
Litecoin was among the ten most valuable cryptocurrencies by market capitalization for several years. Although it does not rank so high currently, Litecoin is still a digital asset attracting multiple investors. But is it still convenient to invest in this cryptocurrency? What is the projected Litecoin price for the next few years? Find it out in our Litecoin price prediction.
Litecoin (LTC): Overview
Charlie Lee, a former employee of Google and Coinbase, created Litecoin on October 7, 2011. He set out to solve some of the problems of Bitcoin, like long transaction times and network congestion. For this sake, Lee created Litecoin based on the Bitcoin blockchain but with some crucial differences like the hashing algorithm and block transaction times. While Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 algorithm, Litecoin uses the so-called Scrypt algorithm. Litecoin’s block transaction time is 2.5 minutes, four times faster than Bitcoin’s.
Litecoin inherited several features from Bitcoin, such as a fixed total coin supply. However, the maximum supply of this cryptocurrency is 84 million LTC coins instead of 21 million as it is with Bitcoin. Also, both cryptocurrencies utilize a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. In general, Litecoin works almost like Bitcoin since Charlie Lee’s vision was to create a “lighter version of Bitcoin.” Litecoin has gained wide acceptance because of its low fees, making this cryptocurrency suitable for payments involving smaller amounts of money.
Litecoin Current Market Status
At the time of writing (mid-February 2022), CoinMarketCap ranks Litecoin as the #20 most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Currently, an LTC coin trades at $127.60, which, combined with a circulation supply of 69,642,594 LTC coins, leads to a market cap of nearly $8.9 billion.
Litecoin Price Analysis
Litecoin started trading on October 13, 2011, five days after its release via an open-source client on GitHub. However, the earliest ‘official’ LTC price records are from 2013, when CoinMarketCap went online. Accordingly, this coin's price was $4.2965 on April 29, 2013. During the first crypto market bullish run in 2013, the Litecoin price climbed to $44.73 on December 3. However, in 2014, it declined progressively. By October 1, 2014, the LTC price was $4.3227. This coin depreciated further, ending 2014 at $2.699.
The following two years did not bring any significant price hikes. The LTC price reached $7.5369 on July 8, 2015, the highest price in 2015 and 2016. But this price hike was short-lived, and the LTC price dropped quickly afterward. Litecoin closed 2015 at $3.509 and 2016 at $4.5116.
Then, the historical 2017 year came. The LTC price began to increase at the end of March 2017. Litecoin appreciated progressively in the following months, but in December, it skyrocketed. On December 17, the Litecoin price reached a whopping $358.34. A significant price adjustment followed this historical hike, as with most cryptocurrencies. Litecoin lost value throughout 2018, ending the year at $31.98.
In the first half of 2019, the Litecoin price showed an uptrend. By June 21, this coin traded at $141.9. However, during the second half of 2019, a price downtrend ensued. Litecoin ended 2019 at $42.02. In the first two months of 2020, the Litecoin price bounced, reaching $82.99 on February 13. But by March 11, it had dropped to $30.93. Another significant surge occurred on August 16, when the LTC price reached $67.03. However, this coin gained considerable value in the last two months of 2020. It ended this year at $126.23. Litecoin was back on track.
2021 was an excellent year for this coin. On January 8, it traded at $177.48. The LTC price continued increasing steadily despite some drops along the way. Finally, Litecoin set its current all-time high price at $412.96 on May 10, 2021. However, Litecoin could not remain at that price level. On May 22, the LTC price had dropped to $143.52. It bottomed at $107.4 on July 19. For the remainder of 2021, this coin’s price fluctuated widely between $120 and $280.
In January 2022, the LTC price dropped below the $120 line. This cryptocurrency showed a slight recovery the following month, crossing the $120 line back. At the time of writing, each LTC coin trades at $127.60.
Evolution of Litecoin
It is difficult to follow the evolution of Litecoin because of a lack of proper documentation. This cryptocurrency does not even have a white paper describing its roadmap. The Litecoin Foundation has released some fragmented information describing expected milestones for this project. Some of the described milestones have already been implemented, such as Lightning Network, Atomic Swaps, and Confidential Transactions via Mimblewimble.
Additional features that will be added in the future include support for smart contracts and Litecoin vaults to protect digital assets against theft. However, the documents that describe these features do not provide expected implementation dates.
Litecoin Price Predictions by Experts
Litecoin is considered a ‘classic’ by veteran crypto traders and investors. It is one of the oldest and most important cryptocurrencies. Litecoin has served as a testbed for several features that had been ultimately added to Bitcoin. For many years, investors considered Litecoin a must-have investment with Bitcoin and Ethereum. What can investors and traders expect for the future of this cryptocurrency? Let us look at some of the most prominent predictions for Litecoin in the coming years.
LTC Price Prediction 2024
For 2024, Long Forecast predicts a brighter picture with a maximum LTC price of $100 in the second half of the year. Experts with Trading Beasts also believe 2024 will be a good year for Litecoin and predict an average price of $227.496 by the end of the year. However, they do not rule out the possibility of this coin reaching $284.70. For its part, CryptoNewsZ forecasts an LTC price of at least $322 in 2024.
LTC Price Prediction 2025
Digital Coin Price expects Litecoin to trade at $297.5 by the end of 2025. CryptoNewsZ offers a more optimistic scenario, which puts the LTC price in 2025 between $390 and $500. However, other analysts are more cautious and think that the LTC price may be around $425 throughout 2025.
LTC Price Prediction 2030
There are not many Litecoin price predictions for the very long term. Such predictions are difficult to produce because of the many unforeseen factors that could affect the cryptocurrency's price for an extended period. Yet, Coin Price Forecast offers an LTC price prediction for 2030. Accordingly, Litecoin would trade between $351 and $369 this year. More optimistic analysts believe that the LTC price will be above $500 in 2030.
Summary
From most price predictions, one can conclude that Litecoin will survive the ongoing bear market. Not only that, but this cryptocurrency will likely increase its value in the following years. Litecoin has been one of the most popular cryptocurrencies and will continue to be. Yet, despite optimistic predictions, unforeseen price movements could occur. Therefore, if you add LTC to your portfolio, it would be better to invest only what you can afford to lose.
FAQ
Is Litecoin Better than Bitcoin?
Litecoin and Bitcoin share practically the same technology. However, Litecoin features some improvements like faster transactions and lower fees. But as an investment, Bitcoin is indisputably more stable. Whether this stability is better depends on your approach to investing or trading.
On What Platforms Can LTC Be Transacted?
Litecoin was one of the first cryptocurrencies to hit the market. As such, practically all exchanges list this coin for trading nowadays. You can buy LTC coins with fiat money or cryptocurrencies. If you opt for the latter, you can use LetsExchange.io to swap cryptocurrencies for LTC coins easily and quickly. You do not need to register to transact on our platform.
Is Litecoin a Good Investment in 2024?
Possibly. Litecoin is an old cryptocurrency that has passed the test of time. Over the years, Litecoin has added more features to its platform. And newer features are on their way! Although its market share is declining, most crypto experts agree that Litecoin will increase its value in the next few years. Some analysts expect Litecoin to reach $500 at some point. Considering this cryptocurrency’s current price, you can have good future returns, especially in the long run.
Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the above information is based exclusively on our observations and is provided for informational purposes only. It doesn’t constitute any kind of financial advice nor represents an official forecast. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile asset, and you are investing in it at your own risk.
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