One week after the highly anticipated Litecoin halving event on August 2, on-chain data reveals that the network’s hash rate, a key measure of computing power channeled to the network, is steady but erratic.
As of August 9, trackers indicate that the Litecoin network’s hash rate is hovering around 760 TH/s, a notable decrease from the all-time peak of 816 TH/s recorded in late July 2023.
Litecoin Prices Steady But Lower, Rally Incoming?
Litecoin prices, on the other hand, are firm but down in the previous week of trading. CoinMarketCap data on August 9 shows that LTC is changing hands at $83, down 5% over the past week. What’s clear is that prices are moving tightly inside a consolidation range.
LTC price on August 9 on the daily chart. | Source: LTCUSDT on Binance, TradingView
Despite this dip, LTC is relatively resilient, up 17% from June 2023 lows. However, from a top-down preview, the coin is down 26% from the 2023 highs. In the medium term, LTC remains bullish since bears have failed to unwind gains posted from mid-June to mid-July 2023. Whether bulls will maintain control after halving, however, is also unclear.
If past performance guides, there is a glimmer of hope for bulls. The previous Litecoin halving in August 2019 was several months before LTC ripped to $400 in 2021. Even so, before this spike, LTC prices nearly halved from $66 to $35 in December 2019.
Unlike previous halvings, the crypto space has matured, and regulatory clarity has improved, particularly concerning Bitcoin—the foundational protocol from which Litecoin emerged. For instance, while most US regulators consider Bitcoin a commodity, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is cautious toward other altcoins.
Tracking On-Chain Metrics To Gauge Interest
Considering the above challenges and regulatory uncertainty, the interconnection between hash rate and spot prices is actively monitored. Litecoin relies on decentralized miners for security and transaction confirmation.
The network’s security is evaluated via the hash rate metric, which risks crashing since miners must allocate more resources after the network halved rewards to 6.25 LTC. A potential price decline could trigger a corresponding reduction in hash rate, forcing the network to adjust the difficulty.
How this evolves remains to be seen, and the network remains stable at spot rates. Besides the hash rate near all-time highs, the network’s activity seems unaffected. According to IntoTheBlock data, the network’s average growth is steady despite sentiment on LTC being generally negative.
Feature image from Canva, chart from TradingView
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Author: Dalmas Ngetich
