Fidelity Investments has expanded its digital asset offerings to include Litecoin (LTC), alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This move by the financial powerhouse, which manages over $12 trillion in assets, marks a significant step for Litecoin, known as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.”
Litecoin, created by Charlie Lee, was designed to offer a faster and cheaper alternative to Bitcoin. Recently, its hashrate reached 1.1 PetaHash per second, enabling efficient and low-cost transactions. Unlike Bitcoin, which has a cap of 21 million coins, Litecoin has a maximum supply of 84 million and undergoes halvings every four years, making it a preferred choice for transactions.
A standout feature of Litecoin is its MimbleWimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) protocol, which enhances privacy by concealing wallet balances. Activity on MWEB has surged, with increased transactions and balances over the past year. Litecoin processes transactions in about 2.5 minutes per block and maintains low transaction fees.
Recent data highlights Litecoin’s strong performance compared to other cryptocurrencies. Insights from IntoTheBlock show Litecoin surpassing Dogecoin in transaction volume, averaging $2.85 billion in transactions over $100,000 daily, despite Dogecoin’s larger market cap.
Currently, Litecoin trades at $72.75, reflecting a 2.24% rise in the past 24 hours, with a 5.28% increase in trading volume to $285,874,050. This growth indicates a renewed interest in Litecoin as the crypto market recovers.
In summary, Fidelity’s inclusion of Litecoin is expected to increase demand for LTC, driven by Fidelity’s extensive reach and the growing interest from both retail and institutional investors.
Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen believes Ethereum (ETH) faces a period of hardship before it can recover.
Solana’s latest governance votes have reshaped the network’s economic model, with mixed results for SOL holders.
Institutional demand for XRP ETFs is rising, with BlackRock expected to file soon, following Franklin Templeton’s recent application.
Activity among major cryptocurrency holders is intensifying, with significant token movements reshaping the landscape.