Litecoin (LTC) has recently achieved a significant breakthrough. This new high marks its highest price for the first time since July 2024.
According to a recent post by blockchain analytics platform Santiment, LTC surged past $73, hitting a new high. This is the first time since July that Litecoin has experienced a moderate breakout.
Litecoin is a decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. Due to its shorter block time, it is often regarded as a faster and more cost-effective alternative to Bitcoin for smaller transactions. However, they both employ the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism.
Why Litecoin Soared this Week
Santiment noted that LTC’s current price is primarily influenced by a significant increase in on-chain transaction volume, with daily transactions nearly crossing $4 billion, and a recent application for a Litecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.
Earlier this week, the crypto investment company Canary Capital filed for the first-ever spot Litecoin ETF with the United States and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm would offer U.S. investors an investment vehicle linked to LTC if approved.
Even though Canary Capital’s ETF application has yet to be decided on, the announcement fueled excitement among the Litecoin community. An ETF backed by the coin could pave the way for increased institutional investment and enhance Litecoin’s acceptance in mainstream finance.
A Litecoin ETF would represent more than new investment opportunities; it would signal approval from financial regulators, indicating that the crypto asset has matured past its speculative days.
The crypto asset has surged 1.46% over the past 24 hours, changing hands at over $72.60. As of the time of writing, its market cap is over $5.4 billion.
Litecoin’s Performance YTD
Over a year-to-date (YTD) record, Litecoin has had its fair share of market growth. The L1 network processed over 6.3 million transactions early this year, suggesting renewed interest and on-chain activities.
Data from Glassnode also showed that since January 4, the daily count of unique addresses active on Litecoin, either as a sender or receiver, rose by 17%.
The rise in activity boosted that network’s hashrate to its second-highest level of 885.09 TH/s, according to data from CoinWarz.
Due to the rise in user activity, the year was also marked by a jump in transaction fees on Litecoin. Since January 4, the total fees paid daily to process transactions on the chain have grown by 38%.