Despite bullish Sentiment Lite Coin is trading below $200.
It has been a volatile week so far for the 5th ranked cryptocurrency by market cap; after hitting monthly high near 250 on Tuesday, the coin is currently trading well below that level at around 197 at the time of writing. However, this volatility should come as no surprise as there have been several huge news stories affecting both litecoin and the cryptocurrency market in general.
Let’s take a look at what’s happening-
• The good- Litepay and plans for greater merchant integration- It should come as no surprise that the recent announcement of lite pay (set to launch Feb. 26) has led to renewed interest in the cryptocurrency, which realized some significant gains in price and volume momentum following the announcement. Litepay aims to make litecoin a practical and easy to use payment system for consumers and merchants alike by offering flat rate settlement (opposed to processing fees), direct bank deposits, and the ability for consumers to “use litecoin in a similar fashion as a debit card”; of course this comes alongside security features that are intrinsic to using crypto for currency generally such as identity, no double spending, or chargeback fraud. This is big news for litecoin and cryptocurrency in general; by providing both brick and mortar and ecommerce merchants incentives to accept and use litecoin and the fact that it offers a more practical platform for merchants than bitcoin, we can expect to see a greater level of the coin’s adoption.
• The Bad- Declines in price may be related to general crypto sentiment- The two-day declines to litecoin price come alongside a general sea of red, near 100 billion-usd drop in general marketcap (below), and an assortment of news regarding crypto-regulation including the bank of England’s Mark Carney calling bitcoin a “Failed” currency. This suggests two things, first that ambiguity concerning the future of cryptocurrencies is the biggest factor hampering its growth; secondly, it suggests that investors are eager to take profits after a somewhat anemic month. Overall, it seems that the early week’s gains should not be interpreted as a recovery of the market.
• The Ugly- Confusion about Litecoin Cash- Litecoin experienced a successful fork on Sunday night birthing a new Cryptocurrency- Litecoincash. While LCC’s developer, known to the world as Tanner told coindesk that the aim of the coin is to increase community engagement and bring life back to old miners by using a Sha256 script; Charlie Lee made his position clear stating that LCC is pointless, as scam, and that users should be careful with their coins and keys. Many litecoin users have been weary of redeeming the coin, and the coin is currently only traded on the yobit exchange. Despite this the coin was able to rally to 9.25 on the 20th of February. Litecoin users may want to proceed with caution regarding LCC until the coin establishes itself, if it truly wants to retain legitimacy they should offer users the opportunity to redeem their LCC once the coin is established.
Conclusion- The recent drop in litecoin price is understandable given the general sentiment of the crypto market, while the bullish sentiment among investors is also understandable. We should see prices rise as the litepay’s launch nears; however, the month high of 250 is at huge resistance hurdle for the coin. Litecoin should have no problem reaching 250 as the week progresses, and it’s very much likely that it could surpass this level.
Graphs taken from- Cryptocoincharts.com / Coinmarketcap.com
Litepay website- https://www.litepay.us
Business Insider- Bank of England's Mark Carney: Bitcoin has 'failed' one of its key aims- http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-failed-as-currency-bank-of-england-governor-mark-carney-2018-2
Coindesk- No, 'Litecoin Cash' Isn't Bitcoin Cash All Over Again-https://www.coindesk.com/no-buying-litecoin-cash-isnt-buying-bitcoin-cash/