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The value of Litecoin (LTC) edged upward on May 15 as the market evaluated its entry into the flourishing nonfungible token (NFT) frenzy.
LTC’s price surged by over 6.5% on May 15, reaching approximately $87.50, establishing itself as one of the top performers among leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). LTC has appreciated by 115% from its market low of $40.25 in June 2022.
Litecoin introduces its own token standard
The rise in LTC’s price follows two weeks after the launch of the Litecoin Ordinals Protocol.
This concept mirrors Bitcoin’s Ordinals Protocol, which permits users to mint NFTs — including text, images, audio, video, etc. — on the foundational blockchain through an experimental BRC-20 token standard, akin to Ethereum’s ERC-20.
6/ Then anyone can mint it for free. All BRC-20 tokens are free mints with no pre-mine. In this example token the “lim” (limit) was set to 1,000 and the “max” (max supply) was set to 21,000,000. So anyone can inscribe a mint JSON which functions until 21,000,000 tokens are minted. pic.twitter.com/Gqo8TLrQjR
— Leonidas.og (@LeonidasNFT) May 8, 2023
On May 2, the Litecoin community unveiled a forked version of the BRC-20 standard known as “LTC-20.” Consequently, anyone can now inscribe an NFT — an LTC-20 standard token — into the Litecoin blockchain utilizing its native Ordinals protocol.
Activity on the Litecoin network surged following the introduction of the LTC-20 standard, with the total number of daily on-chain transactions hitting a record peak of over 576,700 on May 9, according to BitInfoCharts.com.
As of May 14, the transactions had decreased to 511,290 but remained elevated by historical measures.
Moreover, the overall count of active addresses on the Litecoin network saw a significant rise following the introduction of the LTC-20 token standard, as per data from Santiment.
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“Upon reviewing the LTC supply distribution, it is evident that the smallest group of wallets, holding between 0 and 0.001 LTC, is rapidly expanding alongside the rise in active addresses,” the platform remarked, adding:
“This correlation implies that LTC20 could indeed be a driving factor behind the active address anomaly on the Litecoin network.”
Conversely, the number of Litecoin whales — entities possessing more than 1,000 LTC in their unique addresses — has diminished, indicating a relatively lower interest in the LTC-20 excitement.
What’s next for LTC price?
Increased network activity highlights a growing demand for LTC, which may have contributed to Litecoin’s recent price increases. Additionally, the enthusiasm surrounding Litecoin’s forthcoming halving in August has also enhanced LTC’s potential for growth.
Related: Bitcoin addresses holding 1 BTC or more reach one million: Glassnode
From a technical standpoint, LTC seems to be breaking out of its multi-month descending channel range to the upside.
As of May 15, LTC/USD was testing the upper trendline of the channel as support, which, if successful, could propel the price towards $130 by August, representing an increase of about 50% from current price levels.
Alternatively, Litecoin’s price risks reverting back into the channel range, aiming for a decline towards the lower trendline. This could mean a drop towards $25, approximately 70% lower than current price levels.
This article does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading decision carries risk, and readers should perform their own research before making a decision.
