The price of litecoin (LTC) was quoted in three digits across cryptocurrency exchanges earlier today.
The fifth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization jumped to $107.71 at 02:00 UTC, the highest level since June 12, 2018, according to CoinDesk’s Litecoin Price Index.
The bullish move has stalled in the last few hours, though, with the price currently trading around $94, representing a 1 percent gain on a 24-hour basis.
Litecoin isn’t the only crypto rallying today, either. Other prominent cryptocurrencies like ethereum’s ether, XRP, EOS and Binance coin are also flashing green. Notably, ether (ETH) jumped to $272 earlier today, the highest level since Sept. 5 and is currently the best performing top 10 cryptocurrency of the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
The alternative crypto assets have found love in the last 48 hours as bitcoin’s bullish momentum is showing signs of weakness. The leading cryptocurrency by market value printed a fresh 10-month high of $8,360 in Asian trading hours today, only to quickly fall back below $8,000, as per CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index.
With bitcoin struggling to maintain gains above $8,000, investors may continue to pour money into altcoins. Litecoin, in particular, could shine bright over the next few weeks, as the mining reward halving is now less than 90 days away.
On Aug. 6, the reward for mining coins on litecoin’s blockchain will drop from current 25 LTC to 12.5 LTC. The process, aimed at curbing inflation, is repeated every four years and markets tend to price in the supply-altering event well in advance, according to historical data.
LTC/USD and LTC/BTC daily charts
LTC/USD (above left) jumped above $100 earlier today, as expected, having witnessed a falling wedge last month and an inverse head-and-shoulders breakout on May 14.
The bullish price action is accompanied again by an overbought reading an (above-70 reading) on the relative strength index (RSI).
However, with reward halving due in less than three months, pullbacks, if any, will likely end up fueling stronger price rallies toward $155, which is the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the sell-off from December 2017 highs to December 2018 lows.
The bullish view would be invalidated if LTC violates the current higher lows, higher highs pattern on the RSI with a move below 68.83. That could happen if bitcoin falls sharply toward $5,000.
Even then, LTC may outperform BTC, courtesy of the reward halving boost, leading to a big rise in LTC/BTC, which is currently trapped in a falling channel (above right).
Disclosure: The authors hold no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.
Litecoin image via Shutterstock; charts by Trading View
https://www.coindesk.com/litecoin-price-hits-11-month-high-above-100
