Litecoin price posted one of the biggest gains today, jumping from $236.76 at the start of the day to a high of $305.66 around noon Saturday (UTC), marking a 29% gain, before sliding back to $290.08 at the time of this report. With a market valuation of $15.85 billion, Litecoin is the fifth largest crypto by market cap behind fourth-place Cardano, with $28 billion.
One Day Price
Today’s high was well below the $370.78 Litecoin hit on Dec. 19 amidst the fourth quarter market rally. Litecoin creator Charlie Lee liquidated his LTC holdings shortly thereafter, claiming he wanted to remove his personal influence on Litecoin’s performance.
The price fell to $218.62 on Dec. 22, then embarked on an up and down journey.
The altcoin was briefly overtaken today by Tron, a blockchain-based entertainment platform with more than 300,000 active users in terms of market valuation.
Charlie Lee Encouraged
Lee reaffirmed that he was not concerned with the short-term price trend of Litecoin, because other indicators showed that Litecoin was a more active blockchain network than its competition.
He said he cared very little about market cap rank and more about the number transactions. He said people need to actually use Litecoin, and the price will follow.
Lee said Litecoin is doing very well in terms of growth in usage, comparing its growth in the past year to that of other coins.
“Let’s not let price distract us from what’s actually important,” he said.
Whether Litecoin can take over Cardano remains uncertain, he said. but if it can sustain its current momentum, this could be a possibility in the mid-term.
Lee revealed on Dec. 20 that he had liquidated his entire LTC balance and donated it to the Litecoin Foundation, although that does not mean he is abandoning development of the fifth-largest cryptocurrency. He said he liquidated his holdings because he exerted so much influence within the community and had the ability to move the markets through his public comments on Twitter and other public platforms.
Mixed Response
Lee’s announcement received a mixed response, with some community members praising him for his “sacrifice” and others questioning whether his lack of “skin in the game” will actually make him less-invested in Litecoin’s long-term success.
Mike Novogratz, the billionaire manager of $500 million crypto hedge fund Galaxy Investment Partners, questioned whether it was a good move, stating on Twitter that he would be worried if Ethereum co-founders Vitalik Buterin or Joseph Lubin liquidated their ether balances.
Novogratz did, however, attributed Litecoin’s early December rally to an “agile promoter” — presumably Lee, who has made several high-profile media appearances this week.