Litecoin (LTC) price has historically fluctuated between $1.11 (January 14, 2015) and $412.96 (May 10, 2021). The value of Litecoin is determined by the development of the general crypto market, investor interest, and the global adoption of Litecoin. The future of Litecoin looks quite bleak from an investor’s perspective. Litecoin will continue its steady decline in the cryptocurrency rankings.
Litecoin (LTC) price: historical development
Litecoin (LTC) price has historically fluctuated between $1.11 (January 14, 2015) and $412.96 (May 10, 2021). Litecoin’s price history starts in May 2023. This information is based on data from Coinmarketcap.
Litecoin became available for trading in May 2013, when its price was around $4.3. Litecoin’s price experienced its first notable surge in November 2013, coinciding with a significant increase in Bitcoin’s price move. At that time, Litecoin’s price rose to over $39.
This began a long and challenging period, as the Litecoin price dropped to almost one dollar in 2014. 2014, 2015, and 2016 saw a slow and steady price rise. In March 2017, the Litecoin price was still just under four dollars.
Things started to happen in the spring of 2017, as the Litecoin price rose to over $30 in May 2017. 2017 was a year of continuous and steady growth for Litecoin. Its price rose on the back of the general crypto market rally, driven by Bitcoin and Ethereum.
In December 2017, Litecoin broke through $100 and rose to an incredible $375 in just two weeks. Early December 2017 was a crazy time for the altcoin market, with many cryptocurrencies multiplying their value in a matter of days.
The graphic below shows the Litecoin price history:
In early 2018, the crypto market bubble burst, but Litecoin ultimately held its value much better than its competitors. Most coins fell 95% or even 99% by the end of December 2018. Litecoin’s price floor was found to be around $23.
2019 was an excellent year for Litecoin. Its price rose significantly faster than that of its competitors, partly due to the Litecoin halving in the fall of 2019. The price almost quintupled in the spring of 2019, from around $30 to nearly $150.
The 2021 crypto rally also pushed Litecoin to new ATH. The Litecoin euro exchange rate broke the $412 mark on May 10, 2021. Litecoin’s price fell in 2022, along with the rest of the market. Eventually, a bottom was found at around $46, after a 90 percent decline.
The year 2023 was not a good year for Litecoin, considering the development of the entire market. Litecoin’s price slightly increased at the beginning of the year and peaked at over $110 in the summer due to regulatory news in the United States. However, LTC’s price collapsed by almost 50 percent in a couple of months. At the end of 2023, the crypto market rose sharply, but Litecoin did not participate. In the end, the weak year ended with Litecoin’s gain of only 3.8%.
Litecoin’s price followed the development of the rest of the crypto market in 2024. Litecoin rose by about 50 percent in the spring, reaching its peak in early April. This began a decline that lasted until the end of October. Like other cryptos, Litecoin’s price rose in November, immediately after the US presidential election. However, the increase in 2024 was a modest 41.8 percent.
What makes Litecoin valuable?
The value of Litecoin is determined by the development of the general crypto market, investor interest, and the global adoption of Litecoin. Let’s go through the most essential factors in forming Litecoin’s value.
- Overall market trends: No cryptocurrency increases its price significantly against the general crypto market trend. The question is whether the price changes more or less than competing cryptocurrencies. Litecoin needs help from the general crypto market to increase its value, just like all other cryptos.
- Investor’s interest: Litecoin was one of the most popular cryptocurrencies for the first 5-6 years after its launch. However, in recent years, investor interest has shifted to smart contract platforms, DeFi, NFTs, memes, etc. This has had a significant impact on the price of Litecoin.
- Brand/visibility: Litecoin has a strong brand and is one of the most well-known cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin. However, its visibility on social media has decreased tremendously in recent years. Major crypto influencers are not promoting Litecoin as an interesting investment.
- Global adoption: Since Litecoin is a pure payment method, it needs adoption, meaning use cases and users. Litecoin has achieved some success, especially in South America. The competition for alternative payments, especially with Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, has become enormously tougher.
If you are interested in investing in Litecoin, research first and carefully consider whether LTC is the best option for you. Check out our article, how to buy Litecoin, for detailed instructions on the buying process.
The Future of Litecoin
The future of Litecoin looks quite bleak from an investor’s perspective. Its price performance is lagging behind Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies year after year. Litecoin will never again enter the top 10 crypto rankings and will likely fall out of the top 20.
Litecoin was at the peak of its popularity before the smart contract platforms took over the market. This means Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, etc. DeFi apps, NFTs, and memes built on smart contract platforms have become hugely popular recently.
There is nothing wrong with Litecoin per se, but it no longer has the same advantage as a cheap transaction processor. Litecoin is just a currency. As long as cryptos are not widely used for payments, Litecoin doesn’t look like an excellent investment. In addition, the coin has its technological limitations.
Litecoin was born back in 2011. At that time, the main consensus algorithm was Proof of Work, which requires physical mining devices. In recent years, the market has been dominated by Proof of Stake cryptocurrencies. They offer much faster and cheaper transactions than Litecoin. This has also eaten into Litecoin’s popularity.
Read more about this project in our comprehensive beginner’s guide: What is Litecoin?
Litecoin forecast
Litecoin will continue its steady decline in the cryptocurrency rankings. Litecoin had a bright future in the early 2010s when the entire crypto market was still very young, and its position was strong. However, Litecoin’s status has weakened yearly, disappearing from social media discussions over the past five years.
It is hard to find good reasons why the Litecoin forecast could look good. What are the strengths of Litecoin that would attract more buyers from the market?
Bitcoin is already a complete solution and the king of the market. Bitcoin can also make almost free transactions using the lightning network, not to mention projects like Solana, Aptos, or Sui, which offer sub-second transactions with an exceptional capacity. What is Litecoin’s role in this environment?
Litecoin’s price will continue to rise during the future crypto booms. However, as an investor, you need to understand the concept of opportunity cost. Do you want to watch Litecoin’s +10% return or Bitcoin’s +100% return? There are hundreds of better and more profitable investments on the market. Therefore, our Litecoin forecast is somewhat gloomy.
However, it is worth considering Litecoin’s brand value. Litecoin will likely get a spot ETF approval in the US, becoming the third crypto after Bitcoin and Ethereum. Yet, believing this will greatly raise Litecoin’s price is challenging.
