Written by William Subergstaff writerReviewed by Igor Belkinformer editorLitecoin Leads Altcoin Retreat as SegWit Optimism Grips Bitcoin Again
Latest NewsPublishedJun 21, 2017
Litecoin’s sudden rise is tailing off as Bitcoin reverses altcoin fortunes on the back of SegWit optimism.
Litecoin has dropped 10 percent in 24 hours after Bitcoin’s fall saw the altcoin pass the $50 mark for the first time.
Litecoin, which less than a week ago was worth $29, gained rapidly as Bitcoin showed signs of weakness again, but Wednesday saw the pair’s fortunes reverse.
Commenting on the performance, entrepreneur Tuur Demeester reiterated his theory that Litecoin was used as a go-to Bitcoin “hedge” for investors.
Bitcoin up 7% on segwit optimism, Litecoin down 4.5%. So far my theory that $LTC is used as a hedge seems to hold. — Tuur Demeester (@TuurDemeester) June 20, 2017
Bitcoin’s new climb comes as the community becomes more convinced that SegWit will activate on the network in the near future.
The price per coin increased north of $2,700 in the 24 hours to press time, while the majority of altcoins have since followed Litecoin downhill.
In particular, Dash and Ethereum (ETH) posted similar losses, while Ethereum Classic also came off recent highs to see its market cap dip below the $2 bln mark.
Demeester added the broad downtrend could take away from Litecoin’s presumed role, subsequently noting he “may have been too quick to judge.”
Subscribe to daily byte-sized crypto news from Cointelegraph
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
