With Litecoin halving on August 3rd approaching, anticipation among the crypto community grows, but does the price of LTC follow? After an all-time high of $347 in September of 2021, the Litecoin price is around $92 at the time of writing. LTC has been trading between $87 and $95 in the past week, with several up-and-down swings.
A Litecoin block halving event occurs every four years and involves reducing the block reward miners receive for validating transactions. Some market observers look to the Litecoin halving to gauge markets ahead of the Bitcoin halving.
Block Rewards Decrease Over Time
Litecoin, dubbed the silver of crypto, is a fork of the gold of crypto, Bitcoin. The decision to implement block-halving events in Litecoin was driven by the desire to create a cryptocurrency with a fixed and limited supply, similar to the scarcity of precious metals like gold. Unlike conventional fiat currencies, which governments or central banks can print, Litecoin’s supply is capped at 84 million LTC.
The block reward will be cut from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC after the halving event, which will continue periodically until approximately the year 2142.
By reducing the block reward every four years through halving events, the rate at which new Litecoins are generated decreases, leading to a controlled and predictable inflation rate. This scarcity and controlled supply mechanisms aim to maintain and potentially increase Litecoin’s value over time as demand grows while the supply remains limited, making it more akin to a digital version of gold.
Community Excitement Increases
The market has a buzz and expectation as the Litecoin block halving event draws near. As evidenced by crypto trader Ali, who stated in July that “Litecoin whales have bought over 590,000 $LTC in the last 48 hours, worth around $59 million!”
The halving, which lowers the block reward and restricts the supply of Litecoin, has traditionally raised interest in the cryptocurrency and driven up the price.
The number of wallet addresses holding sizeable quantities of LTC has also significantly increased in the months preceding the halving, reflecting an optimistic attitude among traders who think the scarcity would boost the altcoin’s price above and beyond $95. This accumulation of LTC tokens suggests a positive outlook for Litecoin’s future performance as the halving event draws near.
However, as the saying goes, “history never repeats itself, though it often rhymes,” therefore, only time will tell what effect the halving has if any.
