Litecoin is attracting attention as an asset that maintains its value over the long term. The hype surrounding the Litecoin ETF is fueling a bullish price outlook for the coin.
Litecoin (LTC) recently surpassed Ethereum (ETH) in terms of longest average holding period. This highlights Litecoin’s continued appeal among long-term investors. However, Bitcoin (BTC) continues to lead in this metric.
Long-term Litecoin investors are rapidly increasing
According to IntoTheBlock, Bitcoin’s “average HODL time” is the longest at 4.4 years. This is consistent with the widespread concept of long-term preservation of wealth, or “digital gold.”
This chart shows typical holding periods for various assets.
As expected, Bitcoin leads with an average HODL time of 4.4 years.
Interestingly, top meme coins such as Doge and Shiba have shown similar holding times as ETH.
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— Into the Block (@intotheblock) October 24, 2024
In particular, average HODL time refers to the amount of time a token remains on an address before being transferred. This indicator reflects a high level of confidence in the reliability of digital assets as a store of value.
As Bitcoin nears all-time highs, retail and institutional investor interest in Bitcoin continues to grow. However, Litecoin is just behind Bitcoin, with an average holding period of 2.6 years. The increase in average HODL time for Litecoin indicates that more experienced and long-term investors are joining the network, rather than short-term speculators.
On the other hand, Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Shiba Inu (SHIB) all have the same average holding period of 2.4 years. This relationship has been observed despite different use cases and market perceptions, indicating that meme coins are evolving beyond their initial reputation as speculative assets.
Other top digital assets featured on the IntoTheBlock list include Chainlink (LINK), Toncoin (TON), Tron (TRX), and Cardano (ADA). The average holding period for LINK and TON is 1.9 years, while for Tron and Cardano it is 1.2 years each.
Tether (USDT) and Avalanche (AVAX) have the shortest average HODL times at 8.9 months and 7.7 months, respectively. USDT’s position is understandable considering that it is primarily used as a trading pair and medium of exchange rather than as a long-term investment.
Litecoin’s Roller Coaster Journey
The spike in Litecoin’s average HODL time comes amid a positive outlook for the network. After a brief period of volatility, LTC is currently riding bullish momentum. However, Litecoin’s rise to current levels comes with a series of obstacles. As reported by CNF, crypto whales abandoned Litecoin in 2021, but few were willing to buy it back after crypto winter 2022.
Litecoin lost nearly 25% of its value in August. However, the coin’s price quickly rose, posting a massive 30% increase earlier this month. At the time of writing, LTC is trading at $72.29, marking an increase of 0.3% over the past 24 hours. Litecoin is currently above its opening price on New Year’s Day, and investigations are being conducted into other factors behind the growth.
A major factor in Litecoin’s recent surge is the hype surrounding the possible launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Notably, Canary Capital Group has filed to register a Litecoin ETF with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
If approved, Canary will be able to offer direct exposure to LTC to retail and institutional investors. Litecoin founder Charlie Lee commented on this development, predicting that approval of a Litecoin ETF could come as early as 2025.
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