Litecoin price has moved sideways in the past few days even as Bitcoin, its bigger cousin, has jumped to a record high. LTC was trading at $126 on Wednesday, a few points below the year-to-date high of $146. So, with its hash rate soaring to a record high, can the Litecoin token jump by 226% and hit a record high?
Litecoin hash rate has surged
On-chain data show that Litecoin’s hash rate has held steady in the past few months and moved to a record low. According to IntoTheBlock, the hash rate has risen to 1.71k, much higher than the 30-day average of 1.52k.
The hash rate is an important metric in the crypto industry that looks at the total computational power a crypto network uses to process transactions and secure a network. A higher hash rate is a sign of a cryptocurrency’s health.
Other metrics show that Litecoin’s network is doing well. Mining difficulty has continued rising after the recent halving event in 2023.
The number of Litecoin addresses with balances has continued rising, and it currently stands at over 7.92 million. This is a bigger number than January’s low of 7.67 million, meaning that the network is seeing more user inflows. The number of daily transactions has also continued rising this year.
Another potential catalyst for Litecoin price will be a potential ETF filing. In an X post, Eric Balchunas, head of Bloomberg’s ETF division, predicted that an LTC ETF would be approved easily because of its similarity with Bitcoin. Litecoin is not a security since it is a hard fork made from Bitcoin.
A spot Litecoin ETF approval would likely lead to more upside as optimism rises. However, it is unclear whether LTC would attract substantial inflows from investors.
LTC price analysis
The weekly chart shows that LTC price formed a slanted triple-bottom pattern between $40 and $60. It has now rebounded and moved above the key resistance point at $115.68, its highest swing in July 2023. This price was the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement level and the neckline of the triple-bottom pattern.
Litecoin price has moved above the 50-week and 25-week Exponential Moving Averages. It has also formed a small bullish pennant pattern.
Therefore, the outlook for the Litecoin price is bullish, with the next viable target being the 50% retracement point at $227. This target is about 80% above the current level. In the long run, Litecoin will likely rise to $415, which is about 225% from the current level.
