Litecoin rocketed by double-digits today to hit a four-week high of $129.45, as optimism grows around the potential approval of a U.S.-listed spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the LTC price directly ahead of what is viewed as a crypto-friendly Trump administration.
As of press time, Litecoin is changing hands at around $137.34, up 21.5% on the day, CoinGecko data shows.
According to blockchain analytics firm Santiment, the rally is driven by Litecoin whales and sharks snapping up roughly 250,000 LTC, valued at around $29 million since Jan. 9.
Bloomberg Analysts Confident Litecoin ETF Is Next
Litecoin’s surge also followed Canary Capital’s amendment to its S-1 registration form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 15, a move pundits deem a significant step toward regulatory engagement.
Canary’s ETF proposal, should it secure SEC’s regulatory green light, Litecoin would join Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as the only other cryptocurrencies with U.S.-approved spot ETFs.
The filing elicited comments from Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, with Balchunas pointing to “chatter that the Litecoin S-1 had gotten comments back from SEC,” suggesting that it “bodes well” for projections that Litecoin is likely to be the next major crypto to secure its own spot ETFs.
Multiple asset managers have been vying for several different spot crypto ETFs, including ones based on LTC. Canary Capital first filed its Litecoin ETF S-1 statement with the SEC in October 2024.
After the amended S-1 filing on Wednesday, the Nasdaq exchange filed the crucial 19b-4 form on behalf of Canary. This is a regulatory filing that formally starts the clock for approval or denial by the SEC. The form says Coinbase Custody Trust Company LLC will custody the ETFs Litecoin.
According to Balchunas, the looming leadership change at the SEC as Paul Atkins replaces Gary Gensler as the regulator’s chairman introduces a “huge variable” in the regulatory outlook. Atkins is expected to create a more favorable environment for crypto ETF approvals.
In a Jan. 16 post on X, the Bloomberg analyst added that the Litecoin ETF application has met all the requisite requirements and conditions for approval.
Despite the latest rally, Litecoin remains 68% below its all-time high of $410.26 reached in May 2021, leaving room for growth if the SEC ends up giving its regulatory blessing.
