Litecoin Price Prediction: Don’t Fall for the Korean “FUD”
Litecoin News Update
Christmas is over and with it, a reverse-Santa Claus rally has kicked in on crypto exchanges. In case you missed it, Thursday morning is presenting a doomsday scenario in the crypto world. But if you’re a “HODLer,” there’s little to worry about.
If it’s of any consolation to you, please note that Litecoin is not the only coin getting battered in this bloodbath. The big daddy of cryptocoins—Bitcoin—is leading the way with a 13% price retracement in the past 24 hours.
I’m scrolling down the list of top cryptocurrencies, and all 15 (barring Ripple) are flashing in red. It’s easy to lose all sense of reason at this point and join the herd selling their positions.
But if you’re still HODLing and wondering “What the heck is happening?” then let me tell you what went wrong overnight.
A rumor spread like wildfire in the wee hours of the night that South Korea—one of the biggest markets for cryptocurrencies—is banning Bitcoin and its offshoots.
Within no time, however, it was clarified that the South Korean government was only banning nameless accounts and certain cryptocurrency exchanges to curb speculative trading.
The measures are part of the government’s regulatory efforts to ensure that volatility in these cryptocurrencies may not pose a systemic risk to its markets.
This fear, uncertainty, and doubt (referred to as “FUD” in urban lingo) of a complete ban, however, was enough to trigger a major sell-off as buyers began to unwind their positions. The ripple effect of the mass Korean sell-off spread across Asia and then to the rest of the world overnight, leaving us with the situation we’re in.
Recall that about two weeks ago, I wrote about the possibility of these regulations and their effect on Litecoin. Let me reiterate that the South Korean regulations are, in fact, good news for Litecoin when you think long term.
South Korean buyers have led the charge in taking LTC prices over $200.00. But their speculative trades have added a great deal of volatility to prices—something that Litecoin cannot afford to have because it defeats Litecoin’s purpose.
Litecoin touts to be a better medium of exchange in the digital world than Bitcoin. It’s both cheaper and faster to transact in. But drastic fluctuations in its exchange rate render it useless for day-to-day use.
This is exactly why Litecoin founder Charlie Lee once said that South Korean regulations may, in fact, be good for Litecoin. They would subdue volatility and bring prices into a more stable range.
He preached that investors HODL their Litecoins for the long haul because he expects Litecoin to become a mode of fast digital payments, not an instrument of gambling.
Remember that I had warned my readers of an imminent price correction ahead of time. With too many sheep jumping onboard, I had forewarned that Litecoin could face a severe price drop if these sheep began to jump ship. I had suggested that, should it happen, the HODLers could save the ship from sinking.
At this point, I feel compelled to pass on Lee’s little piece of advice to Litecoin buyers: “If you can’t handle Litecoin dropping to $20.00, don’t buy.”
Litecoin price is down by about 11.9% in the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, the LTC to USD rate was $249.42, which is still up more than 170% from a month ago.
Analyst Take:
Our belief in Litecoin is unshaken at this point. We see this price correction as only a momentary hiccup, which may pass. We’re sticking with our original Litecoin price prediction for 2018, maintaining a price target of $400.00.
Also Read: Litecoin Price Prediction 2018: Is Litecoin Potential Higher Than Current Counterparts?
