Litecoin Flips Bitcoin Cash in Crypto Rankings With Rally to 9-Month Highs
Litecoin jumped to nine-month highs early on Tuesday, replacing bitcoin cash as the seventh-largest cryptocurrency by market value.
The cryptocurrency rose to $75.77 during the Asian trading hours, a level last seen on Feb.24, according to the CoinDesk 20. Trading down slightly at $74 at press time, litecoin is still up 9% on a 24-hour basis.
Litecoin now has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, higher than bitcoin cash – which underwent a hard fork on Sunday – at $4.67 billion.
Related: Gold Lags Far Behind Bitcoin as Vaccine Optimism Buoys Markets
Once referred to as the silver to bitcoin’s gold, litecoin has far fallen behind the top cryptocurrency in recent years. Bitcoin’s market cap is now near $310 billion, over 60 times greater.
Litecoin’s recovery from September lows near $40 picked up the pace on Oct. 21 after online payments giant PayPal announced support for the cryptocurrency alongside bitcoin, ether and bitcoin cash. Litecoin jumped over 13% at the news, confirming a bullish pattern on technical charts, and has remained bid ever since.
While litecoin is up 80% this year, bitcoin has gained over 120%. The first cryptocurrency reached a 33-month high of $16,885 on Monday and was last seen at $16,700. Prices have risen by more than $6,000 since early October, given a push by investments from notable companies.
Also read: Citibank Analyst Says Bitcoin Could Pass $300K by December 2021
Related: Bitcoin Slices Through $17,000 as Market Cap Nears All-Time High
Bitcoin’s continued rally looks now to be dragging along alternative cryptocurrencies in general. Chainlink’s LINK and Stellar’s XLM have gained 5% on a 24-hour basis, while XRP has risen by 10%. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, is up over 2% at $465. However, unlike litecoin and bitcoin, many top altcoins have yet to challenge their respective third-quarter highs.
