Litecoin’s 51% surge bucks crypto lull. Here’s what’s driving the price

Litecoin soared 51% successful February, trading astatine $135 connected Friday, and has outperformed large cryptocurrencies.

The rally comes arsenic Litecoin — created successful 2011 from Bitcoin’s root codification — cleared different hurdle to triumph support for a spot exchange-traded fund.

The prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin person either dropped oregon posted lone flimsy gains implicit the aforesaid period, portion XRP gained 6% this month.

ETF issuers person applied to motorboat funds based connected the past 3 cryptos.

The flood of altcoin ETF applications travel amid US President Donald Trump’s flurry of enforcement orders and cardinal appointments designed to unbend US crypto laws.

Third base

Litecoin is seen by galore marketplace watchers arsenic the astir apt altcoin to get ETFs based connected it.

“In shot terms: All of them are rounding the archetypal base, but for Litecoin which is headed to third,” Bloomberg Intelligence expert Eric Balchunas said earlier successful February.

Balchunas and his workfellow James Seyffart antecedently gave Litecoin a 90% accidental of approval.

Polymarket punters enactment the odds of an approved Litecoin ETF this twelvemonth astatine 85%, somewhat down from 87% past week.

In the past 2 weeks, the SEC has publically acknowledged a raft of altcoin ETF filings including money applications. Acknowledgement means that the bureau is considering the applications.

It sent a awesome that the regulator is unfastened to altcoin ETFs aft erstwhile applications person been asked to retreat instantly aft filing, Balchunas said.

On Thursday, Canary Capital’s spot Litecoin ETF exertion passed different hurdle and became the archetypal to be listed connected the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation’s website.

While a DTCC listing doesn’t bespeak the SEC volition o.k. a pending ETF application, it shows the issuer is making preparations for erstwhile that happens Balchunas said.

That’s due to the fact that the level serves arsenic a large clearinghouse for the US fiscal marketplace and settles astir $10 trillion successful securities transactions daily.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs appeared connected the DTCC’s progressive and pre-launch ETF database connected the eve of their respective SEC approvals.

Commodity

Market observers, including Balchunas, antecedently cited Litecoin’s likelihood of being deemed a commodity by the SEC arsenic portion of the crushed for their precocious support odds.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission classified Litecoin arsenic a commodity arsenic portion of its enforcement enactment against crypto speech Kraken past March.

Litecoin similarities to Bitcoin would besides springiness it a much straightforward regulatory way compared to different altcoins, Balchunas said.

That’s due to the fact that the SEC has already deemed Bitcoin a commodity.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? delight interaction him at [email protected].