Why Litecoin (LTC) is Up: Price Soars 18% on ETF Speculation

Litecoin, a cryptocurrency created based on the Bitcoin protocol, has posted a strong performance in the past day and week, respectively. The surging gains was potentially boosted by excitement over an exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval. At the time of publication, LTC traded at 120.56, up 18% and 16%, in the past day and week, respectively, according to the data from CoinMarketCap.

Canary Capital's amended filing for its Litecoin ETF has reignited speculation that LTC could be the next cryptocurrency to gain regulatory approval in the United States, according to an SEC filing yesterday (Wednesday).

The speculation has sparked significant buying activity from both institutional and retail investors. In the past 24 hours alone, LTC's trading volumes have soared more than 250% to $1.83 billion.

ETF Filing Fuels Market Optimism

Canary Capital recently submitted an amended S-1 form for its proposed Litecoin ETF, a move the market perceives could be a critical step toward regulatory approval. This filing followed a broader trend of increased interest in cryptocurrency ETFs, with Litecoin now positioned as a serious contender.

Past approvals of similar products, such as Bitcoin ETFs, have triggered significant market rallies, and investors are banking on Litecoin repeating that success. Besides that, on-chain data from Santiment indicates that large investors, commonly referred to as whales and sharks, have been actively accumulating Litecoin, the analytics firm posted on X.

⚡️📈 Litecoin has decoupled from other altcoins, jumping +16.1% in market cap in just the past 11 hours. Just as we saw in early December, the key driver appears to be whales and sharks holding at least 10K+ $LTC. They have accumulated 250K coins since Jan. 9th. 👀 pic.twitter.com/zCmu7tGKJl

Wallets holding at least 10,000 LTC have added 250,000 coins to their holdings since Jan 9, highlighting heightened confidence among influential market players.

Bullish Technical Signals

From a technical analysis standpoint, Litecoin's recent price action points to further gains. The cryptocurrency has bounced off the $98 price support level, the third time it has done so since December 20.

Beyond this level, the nearest price resistance level is $125, while the next level is $135, which was last reached on December 24. Other technical indicators also point to further upward momentum.

The price is currently above the 50 and 200 moving averages. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is also at 62, meaning the price is below the overbought zone, and the price can still go upwards before any trend reversal can be seen.

The anticipation of a Litecoin ETF has broader implications. An approved ETF would make Litecoin more accessible to institutional investors, potentially increasing demand and stabilizing its market position. A similar trend was seen with the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, which remains one of the factors that has boosted the price.