What is the Litecoin price history?

Created by Charlie Lee, Litecoin has gone on to become one of the most popular altcoins on the market today.

Litecoin prides itself on being quicker and cheaper to use than Bitcoin, making it perfect for everyday payments. The Litecoin price history is attached to Bitcoin’s. When you see Bitcoin going through a big pump, the likelihood is that Litecoin is going to follow. In a bear market, you can expect Litecoin to plummet once more to the depths below.

Litecoin currently sits in 6th place of the cryptocurrency rankings at a price of just over $70 and a marketcap of over $4 billion. Where did it all begin?

The early days of the Litecoin price history

Litecoin went live in April 2013 and was a fork of the Bitcoin client. This fork offered different parameters. On release, Litecoin was valued at $4.30 or 0.031 BTC. The price dipped to around $1.50 until the first bull run kicked off, with Bitcoin leading the charge.

Litecoin followed closely on Bitcoin’s tail as money began to flood into crypto and altcoins for the first time. The cryptocurrency managed to reach heights of around $44 just before the beginning of 2014 and then came crashing back down.

The cryptocurrency tumbled steadily downwards. Firstly, into the $20 range and slowly but surely back into single dollar value throughout the remainder of 2014.

Sideways action

From the middle of 2014 to the start of 2017, Litecoin remained relatively stable as interest in cryptocurrencies waned. The original bubble of 2013/14 subsided so Litecoin was not alone in seeing this pattern.

After reaching a bottom of $1.28, the coin remained floating between this before slowly creeping up to around $4. This lasted for two years despite developments being made on the platform and gaining the moniker of being the “silver” to Bitcoin’s “gold”.

The bull run of 2017

If you entered the cryptocurrency market in December 2016 you could have blindly thrown a dart at any cryptocurrency and most likely have made a profit. The rise in prices of cryptocurrencies across the board was spectacular.

Litecoin was no different in this case. Having started the year at a tick under $4, Litecoin defied expectations and rose to a high of $375 in December 2017. This growth in price was unlikely to ever be sustainable. The money flowing into the cryptocurrency markets from retail investors created another bubble and many newcomers FOMO’d into the scene.

Unfortunately, bubbles generally pop sooner or later.

Controversy surrounding Charlie Lee

In December 0f 2017 the creator of Litecoin, Charlie Lee, released a tweet declaring that he had sold his Litecoin holdings. In a Reddit post, Lee explained he “no longer need[ed] to tie financial success to Litecoin’s success”. He also reassured the public that he would continue improving Litecoin. He also stated that his decision to sell did not affect the market either.

The conflict of interest that Lee felt as both a creator and influencer meant that he believed in stepping away from the cryptocurrency, so that Litecoin could survive on its own.

2018 onwards

After reaching the top of its price, Litecoin crashed back down to just below $30 but has since recovered slightly as the market appears to be turning. Currently sitting at just over $70, the price of the cryptocurrency is in a much healthier shape than pre-2017.

Litecoin has, regardless of price, continued to develop itself. It was one of the first cryptocurrencies to implement Segwit, paving the way for Bitcoin to implement the upgrade.

Conclusion

Like any other cryptocurrency, it is impossible to determine whether the heights of 2017 will ever be seen again. There are always dramatic predictions but, in such an unpredictable market, nothing is ever guaranteed.

The Litecoin price history is coupled to the price of Bitcoin, much the same as the rest of the cryptocurrency market. For prices to significantly rise in altcoins, then the price of Bitcoin must rise as well. Altcoins may well one day decouple from Bitcoin but this is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

If you want to see the price of Litecoin rise then watch out for the price of Bitcoin rising as well.