Key Takeaways:
- Litecoin whales expand their ranks and increase holdings.
- The halving event coming on Aug 2 spurred growing interest.
- LTC prices could increase as retail investors join in.
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) – Litecoin (LTC), one of the oldest altcoins, is preparing for a halving on Aug 2.
The whales are also preparing and adding to their holdings. According to the on-chain data tracker Santiment addresses holding between 100,000 and 1 million LTC now hold over 35% of the supply, pumping their purses by $59 million.
Meanwhile, as the chart above testifies, the whales have been actively accumulating since early July due to price depreciation and the drawing halving event. Moreover, in a Jul 5 tweet, Santiment asserted that Litecoin saw a 6% whale address number increase “in the previous five months.”
Litecoin halving could pump the LTC price
As per the Litecoin calendar, the halving event will occur on Aug 2 at 1725 GMT.
Taking place on block 2,140,000, the reward for mining Litecoin will suddenly drop from 12.5 LTC to just 6.25 LTC. Reduced supply and increased demand would make logical sense, based on history.
In detail, just like Bitcoin, Litecoin has a halving event every four years. During a halving, the amount of Litecoin created each time a block is mined is cut in half. It essentially strengthens the incentive to mine as much as possible just prior to the halving.
Additionally, the halving puts more value on each existing LTC coin, as investors are aware of the slower production of each coin moving forward.
Retail investors followed the whales
According to Santiment, the “crowd discovery” of the event took place in mid-May. The forums and posts began to see increased interest, reminding traders that this event was within three months away. The on-chain transaction volume took off, which could spur price appreciation.
Generally, the smaller investors tend to watch and sometimes copy whale incentives. Thus, as the large holders’ accumulation continued, retail investors also jumped aboard, strengthening the buying pressure and could subsequently increase the asset price.
As of Jul 20, the LTC coin changed hands at just below $94 in the European session.
