Litecoin (LTC) experienced a significant rise on February 10, continuing its gains driven by increasing expectations regarding the potential approval of an instant Litecoin Exchange-Traded Fund (LTC ETF) this year.
Price Surge and Market Capitalization Litecoin's price rose by more than 10% to reach $119.93, marking its highest daily level on Monday, which reflects a jump of 104% compared to its lowest levels recorded in 2024. The market capitalization of the currency also increased to over $9.0 billion, while its daily trading volume doubled to nearly $1 billion.
Growing Optimism for SEC Approval This strong rise is attributed to increasing expectations that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve an instant Litecoin ETF by the end of the year. Data from Polymarket indicates that the chances of approval have surged to 81%, with investor bets on this occurring during 2024.
Despite the development of crypto index funds for currencies like Solana (SOL) and Hedera (HBAR), the SEC may be more inclined to approve a Litecoin fund due to its significant similarity to Bitcoin (BTC).
Why is Litecoin a Strong Candidate for an Instant ETF? As Litecoin is a fork of Bitcoin, it operates on the same proof-of-work mechanism, categorizing it as a digital commodity according to the classification of the U.S. SEC. Therefore, analysts believe there is no strong legal reason preventing the approval of an instant Litecoin ETF, especially following the launch of instant Bitcoin ETFs in the markets.
Increased Interest from Investors and Institutions in Litecoin Litecoin is gaining strong momentum thanks to supportive fundamentals, as data from CoinGlass indicates that open interest in the LTC futures market jumped by 10.8% over the past 24 hours, reaching $549 million. Additionally, the weighted funding rates showed a positive reading, reflecting traders' optimism for further gains.
Furthermore, data from Santiment revealed an increase in the number of LTC holders over the past week, particularly among large investors holding between 10,000 to 100,000 LTC, indicating growing institutional confidence in the currency.
Will Litecoin Reach $128? According to analyst Carl Moon, Litecoin may see additional upside in the near term, especially after successfully breaking through a bullish ascending triangle pattern, which typically indicates a transition from a consolidation phase to a strong upward trend.
According to his analysis, the target price for this breakout is set at $128 in the near future, unless unexpected developments affect market momentum.
