Litecoin (LTC) Skyrockets 20%: Two Reasons for Sudden Jump

Litecoin (LTC) has regained momentum on the market, skyrocketing more than 20% since the past week. With its price surge, LTC remains a top gainer on a daily and weekly basis among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. At the time of writing, Litecoin was up 9.23% in the last 24 hours to $116.45, on track for its fourth consecutive day of gains since Feb. 7.

Today's rise was the largest, with Litecoin springing from lows of $107 to $118 and thus breaching above the daily SMA 50 barrier at $110.58. Expectations for a prospective Litecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) have increased, contributing to LTC’s upward trajectory.

Article image

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently made some updates on existing crypto-related ETF applications. In the past week, the regulator officially acknowledged the 19b-4 filing from Canary Capital for a spot Litecoin ETF, marking it as the first of its kind beyond BTC and ETH.

A public comment period has already begun, with a 240-day decision deadline for the SEC now in place.

According to expectations, prospective Litecoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) might receive inflows of up to $580 million if investors adopt them at the same rate as Bitcoin ETFs. Approximately 6% of Bitcoin's supply is presently held in various ETFs, and a similar amount for Litecoin would result in more than $500 million in inflows to LTC ETFs.

Litecoin sees technical breakout

After days of consolidating beneath the daily SMA 50 at $110, Litecoin rose past this key level again for the first time in weeks.

Amid a broader crypto market sell-off, LTC dipped to lows of $81.09 on Feb. 3. The price rebounded, and Litecoin returned to trade between its daily moving averages of 50 and 200, at $110.27 and $85, respectively.

Bulls gained the upper hand as Litecoin surged in today's session, surpassing the daily SMA 50 level. In the days ahead, eyes will be on a sustained breakout for the Litecoin price beyond this key level, which could target the $135 to $150 zone. The daily RSI has shifted slightly above the midpoint, suggesting that the bulls might be gaining a slight advantage.

On the other hand, LTC may return to consolidate below the daily SMA 50 if its price drops, with major support anticipated at the daily SMA 200 at $85.73.