Litecoin has seen one of the most impressive runs of any cryptocurrency over the last couple of weeks and this run has propelled the altcoin’s standing in the industry. After rallying more than 30% over a period of three weeks, the digital asset is now the 10th-largest cryptocurrency in the space.
LTC’s Market Cap Crosses $7.1 Billion
In the space of a month, the price of Litecoin’s native LTC token shot up from its June lows of $71 and moved as high as $115 before the rally burned out. Following this, the market cap of the digital asset moved up rapidly, beating out some heavy hitters in the space.
Currently, the market cap of the altcoin is sitting above $7.1 billion, despite the price falling back below the $100 level. Its market cap now makes it the 10th-largest cryptocurrency in the market, coming out ahead of the likes of Polygon (MATIC), Tron (TRX), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Litecoin’s standing now makes it the seventh most valuable cryptocurrency in the market when stablecoins are removed from the top 10. This move has also solidified Litecoin’s position as an important player, despite its price correction.
LTC price hits local high of $115 before correction | Source: LTCUSD on TradingView.com
Could Litecoin Run Further From Here?
The biggest bull case for the price of LTC is the Litecoin halving event that is coming up. Only 20 days away from now, investors are already gearing up for what is expected to be a very significant event. These expectations also naturally extend to the price and this could be the reason that the digital asset’s price continues to rise.
Just the anticipation from the last month alone has seen the price cross $115 at its local high. But as the event draws closer and this bullish sentiment continues, the LTC price could quickly reclaim this price and run another 50%.
LTC halving event happening in 20 days | Source: Litecoin Halving
In one instance, crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe has predicted that LTC could rally as high as $200 off the halving event alone. If this happens, then investors could be looking at gains of over 100% just from the current bounce-off point.
However, one concern is that the Litecoin halving could end up being a ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ event. Examples of this have been the Cardano Alonzo upgrade in 2021 and Ethereum’s Shapella upgrade in 2023.
In both of these cases, the token prices rallied in the weeks leading up to the event but eventually fell flat and retraced once the event was completed. So if Litecoin ends up in the same trend, then it would be best to sell in the weeks leading up to the event.
For now, LTC’s price is still holding steady at $97, despite nursing 8.09% losses on the 7-day chart.