Litecoin Price Prediction: “Atomic Swaps” a Game-Changer for LTC Prices?
Daily Litecoin News Update
It is ironic that Bitcoin, Litecoin, and all of their counterparts, which are built on a decentralized blockchain technology, today trade on centralized exchanges. But what if I tell you that you could soon trade Litecoin for Bitcoin and vice versa without having to deal with these exchanges?
Centralized exchanges not only charge you fees, they are also prone to cyber attacks. Countless hacking incidents have taken place in the short eight-year history of cryptocurrencies. From the Mt. Gox hack to the DAO attack to the most recent Tether hack, there have been far too many of these incidents to keep count of.
So imagine if you could just trade your coins with another user directly and securely, by simply bypassing the exchanges. Yes, it has been made possible with “Atomic Swaps”—a decentralized technology under which one party can enter into a trading contract with another party to exchange their coins instantly.
Consider it the equivalent of barter. Say you have some bitcoins that you want to exchange for Litecoins. You could enter into an Atomic Swap with a Bitcoin owner willing to exchange them for Litecoins.
The technology behind Atomic Swaps ensures that both parties make good on their promise and neither party loses their coins in the process.
The technology was tested by Litecoin founder Charlie Lee back in September when he successfully swapped Litecoins with two other cryptocurrencies. However, Atomic Swaps are not available for use for the general public just yet.
Which brings us to today’s Litecoin news update. Sources suggest, and Litecoin founder Charlie Lee endorses, that you and I may be using this technology sooner than we may think. Here’s a tweet breaking the news that Lee retweeted.
You may ask why this is a big deal. It’s very simple.
I like to look at it this way. Instant swaps between Bitcoin and Litecoin would essentially render them as one. The secure swap contracts could eventually give birth to an ecosystem where payments may be processed in one coin or the other.
Imagine, you’re at a restaurant that accepts bitcoins but not Litecoins. The instant swapping between the two cryptocurrencies may allow you to make the payment in Litecoins and the merchant may receive it in Bitcoins.
For now, however, you may need some programming know-how to create these swaps. So, think long term.
The scenario may seem like a remote possibility at this point but the launch of this technology for the general public is one step in the right direction.
Atomic Swaps will further add liquidity to Litecoin’s network and take us one step closer to seeing Litecoin becoming an alternative to fiat currency.
What’s Happening to LTC Prices Today?
Litecoin price seems to be gaining momentum once again. The average LTC price is up about 8.37% in the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, the average LTC to USD rate is at $251.25.
Chart courtesy of TradingView.com
The South Koreans are seemingly buying back into Litecoin. About two-thirds of all trades in LTC in the past 24 hours have flowed in from South Korea, where exchanges OKEx and Bithumb have jointly contributed to about 64% of the trade volume.
Analyst Take
I’ve always maintained that Litecoin may not be a “get rich quick” coin, but it has promising growth potential in the long run.
Needless to say, our Litecoin price prediction for 2018 is bullish and we’re sticking with our $400.00 price target.
