Litecoin (LTC), the 5th largest cryptocurrency according to coinmarketcap, has made a staggering jumped of more than 25% gain in value in less than 24 hours, to hit a new price of $200 per coin. This major growth was witnessed soon after Cboe Global Market, a popular Chicago-based operator, launched the Bitcoin futures trading.
Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin who appeared on CNBC Monday, might have contributed to rapid ascent in Litecoin price. Litecoin gains is also said to be directly related with Bitcoin. Litecoin has become an appealing alternative that has fueled a lot of interest due to its lower transaction costs and faster speeds compared with lagging Bitcoin’s network speeds and soaring transaction fees.
Last week saw Litecoin price fluctuated below the $100 mark soon after Coinbase GDAX exchange crashed in the same week. However, Litecoin kicked off with a major jump this week putting its growth at 4,975% this year. Litecoin applies different mining techniques compared with Bitcoin, which has largely been left out of the current cryptocurrency explosion. Litecoin is currently trading at $187 per coin, while Bitcoins trade at $17,006. However, in that last 12 months Bitcoin gained 2,062%, which is much lower compared with Litecoin.
Litecoin is also believed to be trending up due to the Coinbase rapid-swelling userbase. It appears that some of these users are investing on litecoin since its available on the Coinbase platform and its cheaper compared to bitcoin and ethereum. Also, appearance by Charlie Lee on several prominent programs discussing about the new development in the cryptocurrency industry has given Litecoin an edge. He has used these platforms to pitch Litecoin has the best solution for our everyday payments.
While Litecoin’s year-to-date rise has skyrocketed more than Bitcoin, it’s worth noting that these two cryptocurrencies have followed each other quite closely in terms of price. However, Bitcoin remains the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, which has surged to more than $17000.
According to a British research company, electricity used to mine bitcoin has risen sharply compared to the annual usage of more than 150 countries.