Litecoin price poised for 700% gain vs. Bitcoin, says Charlie Lee
Litecoin (LTC) could make some big gains compared to Bitcoin (BTC), especially as the August halving event approaches, according to Litecoin’s creator Charlie Lee.
Litecoin up 85% since record low against Bitcoin
Lee argues that LTC/BTC could rise to 0.025 BTC, or over 700%, in the next bull cycle, with Litecoin having “higher throughput by design, scalability with expansion blocks, better fungibility and privacy from MWEB.”
Lee:
“I can see an upside target of 10% (0.025 LTC/BTC). In the next bull market, 5% (0.0125) shouldn’t be too hard to achieve. I honestly don’t see it going much below 1% ( 0, 0025) on the downside. The next halving will be in ~92 days. This is going to be fun.”
His comments came after Litecoin’s 85% price recovery from a record low of 0.001716 BTC in June 2022. LTC is still down approx. 90% below the record high of 0.051 BTC from November 2013, due to increasing competition in the altcoin market.
Litecoin halving looms
LTC’s recovery in recent months has been accompanied by growing buzz around the upcoming block reward halving.
The Litecoin block reward for miners will be cut by 50% from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC sometime in August 2023.
As a result, new LTC supply will drop by 50%, which should at least in theory make LTC more scarce in the market and therefore go up in price.
Historically, the months leading up to Litecoin halvings have typically seen traders accumulate LTC. For example, the first halving event in August 2015 was preceded by a 450% price increase against Bitcoin.
However, the months leading up to the second halving event saw limited gains as Bitcoin’s crypto dominance grew amid the US-China trade war. But as a rule, LTC/BTC falls sharply after halving events, which suggests that the same may happen after August 2023.
LTC price technical tips suggest a similar scenario, with LTC/BTC printing what appears to be a bearish flag pattern, as shown below.
The pair may bounce towards the upper trend line of the bear flag, which coincided with the 50-3D exponential moving average (50-3D EMA; the red wave) near 0.0035 BTC ahead of the halving. But the bear flag target is around 0.0024 BTC, down 20% from today’s price level.
Litecoin price to $100 by June?
Litecoin has outperformed the US dollar in the months leading up to the last two halvings. LTC’s price grew by approx. 250% ahead of the first halving and 500% ahead of the second measured from their session lows.
The price has undergone a similar upward trajectory before the August halving, with LTC up 120% from its sessional low of around $40. And it could continue to rise in the coming months, based on a mix of technical and chain indicators.
For example, Litecoin is undervalued relative to its real value, according to Glassnode’s MVRV-Z score of -0.139.
Related: Why Is Litecoin Price Up Today?
MVRV-Z-score represents the ratio between the market and realized cap. So when market value is significantly higher than realized value, it historically indicates a market top (red zone). Meanwhile, the opposite indicates the market bottom (green zone), as shown below.
Litecoin has entered the green zone, which usually precedes strong bullish reversals.
From a technical standpoint, LTC price is well positioned for a rebound after testing its multi-month rising trend line as support.
In this case, LTC/USD could climb towards its horizontal resistance level near $100, up about 20% from today’s prices.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
