Litecoin Reaches $100 for the First Time in its Six-year History

As bitcoin flirted with (and eventually exceeded) the $10,000 level on November 28, litecoin has set a new price record, advancing above $100 for the first time on Coinbase. The altcoin has exhibited a bullish streak since late March, when LTC-USD began to move above the $10 handle and eventually reach an all-time high at $97.716 on the Bitfinex exchange.

Litecoin Set to Display Historic Monthly Gain

Litecoin started 2017 around $4.50 and with the price near $100, the altcoin has managed to exhibit an impressive return. With December just around the corner, LTC-USD is due to experience its highest ever monthly gain, where litecoin was trading around $50. But it is not just the price of the cryptocurrency that is at all-time highs.

The Litecoin network’s usage is also at an all-time high according to data from bitinfocharts.com. For example, the number of unique transactions surpassed 43,000 on November 28 and looks to breach above the 44,067 figure posted on September 1. When comparing to Bitcoin Cash, since both altcoins are aspiring to be digital cash, it seems the bitcoin fork has not dented Litecoin’s growth. Apart from a few blips, the number of unique transactions for litecoin has remained higher consistently.

Litecoin – number of unique transactions per day, source: bitinfocharts.com

Litecoin vs. Bitcoin Cash, source: bitinfocharts.com

The number of active addresses is at an all-time high corresponding with the price action, where there are almost 100,000 active addresses. On November 28, the data showed that there are 95,959 active addresses on the blockchain network, another sign of a growing user base.

Litecoin active addresses, source: bitinfocharts.com

Price Analysis

The weekly price chart below for litecoin on the Bitfinex exchange shows that the altcoin reached a new high on November 28 at $99.735, surpassing August’s peak at $93.716. Also, we see that on the break of last week’s high at $89.393, the bullish saucer signal was triggered. Therefore, we expect the upward momentum to continue and LTC-USD to drift toward the Fibonacci extension at $128.08.

Weekly chart – LTC-USD

The daily timeframe below illustrates an important resistance at $102.333, which could prevent litecoin from sustaining above $100 and sent the market downward to test the support at $84.513 again. On the other hand, a clean break of $100 could see the market take a shot at the 361.8 percent Fibonacci extension at $120.153.

Daily Chart – LTC-USD

The monthly chart below shows that the price of litecoin could test the open of November’s candle at $55 or $77.5 (estimated midpoint), and still be in a bullish trend, since the monthly candlestick looks to form a bullish Marubozu pattern. These important support levels are highlighted below. Further confirmation will be given on December 1.

Monthly Chart – LTC-USD

The bullish trend could continue well into 2018, as the chart above shows the market has only exhibited nine, near consecutive higher highs since the most recent fractal buy, at $3.00. With nine, near consecutive higher highs, this leaves room for around one to three more before exhaustion kicks in. So, at the earliest, we may see the top for the current rally in litecoin during February 2018, or it could extend until the summer of 2018 depending on whether we get consecutive or near consecutive higher highs in the months ahead.