Litecoin Price Forecast: Litecoin Futures Could Lift LTC Price Higher in 2018
Litecoin News Update
In case you were hibernating for the past 36 hours, you missed Litecoin’s big day. Bitcoin’s little brother graduated from the class of single-digit market-cap altcoins. It surpassed $10.0 billion with flying colors and is now worth over $18.0 billion. It is all set to start its practical life, find a job as a “medium of exchange,” maybe get married to another altcoin, and live happily ever after.
But wait. Rumor has it that “the authorities” may soon award it a special title of “asset class.” Once that happens, Litecoin’s life would be set.
Did all those metaphorical references go over your head? Let me break it down in plain language.
Litecoin prices rocketed past $300.00, gaining more than 80% in just one day while taking its year-to-date gains over 5,000%. With that, Litecoin is now one of the top five most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world.
Aggressive media promotions in the past few days have helped bring new buyers to this digital currency. Litecoin’s recognition as a cheaper and faster Bitcoin alternative is reaching more and more ears each passing day.
All of this has been made possible with its founder’s recent media marketing drive. Charlie Lee wants to make Litecoin the actual medium of exchange in the crypto world, ahead of Bitcoin.
This brings us to the rumor that’s lately been circulating in the investor quarters—that is, CBOE and CME, two of the biggest derivative exchanges, are now considering the prospects of altcoin futures. Basically, after the success of Bitcoin futures, there’s a likelihood that Ethereum and Litecoin futures may also be launched.
How does it matter, you ask? It’s simple. If we have a financial derivative of Litecoin trading on a government-regulated exchange, the new investment vehicle legitimizes Litecoin as a real asset class that investors can consider investing in. It also opens the doors to Wall Street’s big money, which likewise begins to pour into this market.
Even if the sharks begin shorting the cryptocurrency, the trade activity adds to its liquidity. The average Joe hears there’s money to be made in cryptocurrencies and he hops on board. If enough people join in, Litecoin hits the mass market.
This is a scenario that could multiply Litecoin prices manifold. Sounds too far-fetched? A couple of months ago, it had seemed unlikely for Bitcoin, too. But it happened and Bitcoin is now trading at its all-time highs.
What’s Happening with Litecoin Prices Today?
The Litecoin price is up another 10% in the past 24 hours. The average LTC to USD rate at the time of writing was $338.64. The LTC to BTC rate also edged up by 9.42% to $0.01919.
Daily Litecoin Price Chart
Chart courtesy of TradingView.com
The majority of the trades are flowing in from the U.S. exchange GDAX, where LTC prices are hovering over $338.00. The trade volume for Litecoin on GDAX is beating Bitcoin and Ethereum. South Korean exchange Bithumb is pulling in the second-highest trade volume, followed by Bitfinex.
Analyst Take:
The prospect of Litecoin futures has us excited. But until anything is confirmed, we are sticking with our recently revised Litecoin price forecast, setting a price target of $400.00 for 2018.
Also Read: Litecoin Price Prediction 2018: Is Litecoin Potential Higher Than Current Counterparts?
