Litecoin Price Spikes 10% as Coinbase Exchange Turns on Trading

By August 23, 2016Bitcoin Business

Litecoin prices rose nearly 10% today as word the digital currency would be listed on Coinbase’s GDAX exchange spread among traders. The move by the exchange to list LTC/USD and LTC/BTC currency pairs, however, was long anticipated, given that litecoin creator Charlie Lee has worked at the startup since 2013. Launched in 2011 and branded the "silver to bitcoin’s gold", litecoin aims to offer faster transaction confirmation times for merchants. At press time, it was the fourth larest digital currency by market cap. Notably, litecoin prices began edging upwards far before the actual announcement, spurred by cryptic tweets and messages from Lee. According to data from BitcoinWisdom, the price of litecoin began to spike at roughly 9:00 UTC, rising from $3.58 to roughly $3.80 at 18:00 UTC, the time of the announcement. During the session, LTC rose 9.3% to $4.01 amid heavy volume. But, the move may have been subdued, as the market has long been aware of GDAX’s plans to list litecoin. (The exchange first revealed it would add the digital currency at some later date on 20th May). Data suggests traders may have gone so far as to price in this listing long before it happened, as LTC rose to $4.83 by 28th May and $5.95 by 17th June, CoinMarketCap figures reveal. At the time trading began on 23rd August, 1 LTC cost $3.66, nearly 40% below the high reached in mid-June. Several traders reported to hearing rumors about the exchange’s plans as well, with one remarking the market likely "bought the rumor and sold the news". Temporary bump While the increase is notable, some analysts emphasized it could merely be a temporary bump. In addition, others voiced their concerns about litecoin’s long-term viability, echoing criticisms that have long faced the project about its lack of innovative […]

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