As Bitcoin approaches its own halving next year, Litecoin’s has already arrived, as miner block rewards go from 12.5 to 6.25 LTC per block later on today. The silver to Bitcoin’s gold When Litecoin creator Charlie Lee read an article in 2011 about this new form of payment that was being used on the Silk Road at the time he was immediately intrigued, and set about copying many aspects of the Bitcoin code in order to produce his own blockchain which he called Litecoin. Litecoin, often called the silver to Bitcoin’s gold, is still with us, and holders will celebrate its third halving event at around 15:08 UTC (16:08 BST). The mining rewards will be cut in half, leading to what founder Charlie Lee calls a “disinflationary” system. The Litecoin price history It can be argued that the Litecoin halving, although a disinflationary event, does not actually impact the price, at least not in the short term. At the time of the first Litecoin halving in August 2015 price remained flat, with the odd spike to the up or downside, all the way up until late March of 2017 when the first great hyperbolic rise in price began. Litecoin went from $4 to around $370 by the end of the year. A bear market then ensued, which took the price all the way back down to $21. Litecoin’s second halving in August 2019 happened as the price was on the way down to a double bottom which finally arrived at $23 in early March 2020. From here another hyperbolic rise took place which coincided with Bitcoin’s first double-top peak. Litecoin hit $413. However, whereas Bitcoin’s second top went even higher, the second Litecoin spike came short of $300 before both cryptos began their descent into the next bear market. This time, Litecoin looked to have bottomed at around $40. Since then the price has ground higher, turning the major resistance at $90 into support, and also the very critical 200-day moving average. Just as Bitcoin is battling to turn its own major resistance at $30,000 into support, Litecoin needs to now hold where it is, making a higher low, and potentially going on to make a higher high in the coming bull market. Litecoin certainly isn’t Bitcoin, but it does share many of its characteristics, and this latest halving will reduce supply by half, making it a lot more attractive for those looking for what might be seen as a cheaper alternative to Bitcoin. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
