Litecoin (LTC) saw a slight 0.8% price increase over the past 24 hours, with its price rising from $63.76 to $64.27. This comes after a week of positive momentum for Litecoin, with its price increasing 4.81% over the past 7 days. However, Litecoin is still down 14.68% over the past month and 25.04% over the past 6 months, indicating there is still room for growth.

With a current market capitalization of $4.73 billion, Litecoin maintains its position as one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Over $205 million worth of LTC traded hands over the past 24 hours, showing there is still strong interest in the asset.

Key Support and Resistance Levels

Looking at the LTC/USD chart, we can see some key support and resistance levels that traders should watch moving forward. Strong support exists around $60, which has held up over the past few weeks even amid broader crypto market volatility. If the price drops below this level, we could see LTC test lower supports around $55 and $50.

On the upside, Litecoin is facing resistance around $68, which rejected price advances multiple times over the past month. If bulls can push LTC above this level, it could pave the way for a test of the psychological $70 barrier. The next key resistance level after that sits around $75.

Litecoin Hashrate Reaches All-Time High

An important fundamental driving Litecoin's recent upside is its hashrate hitting an all-time high. Litecoin's network hashrate measures the total computing power being used to mine and process transactions on the network.

The higher the hashrate, the more secure and decentralized the network is against attacks. Over the past few months, Litecoin's hashrate has been steadily increasing as more miners have entered the network. This shows strong security and interest in Litecoin mining, which is supportive of prices over the long-run.

Improving Technicals on the LTC/BTC Pair

Looking at LTC against Bitcoin rather than the US dollar also reveals improving technicals. The LTC/BTC pair is trading above its 20-day exponential moving average for the first time since June 2022. The pair also formed a higher low relative to its July lows, indicating bullish momentum on this trading pair.

If Litecoin can maintain its strength versus Bitcoin, it signals LTC is outpacing gains in the broader crypto market cap. The LTC/BTC trading pair will be an important metric to watch going forward.

Litecoin Adoption Continues Growing Steadily

On the adoption and development front, Litecoin continues seeing expanded usage which supports its long-term outlook. In August, Coinbase enabled Litecoin transfers on the Coinbase Card, allowing users to spend LTC for purchases using the debit card. Litecoin also saw good growth in active addresses on its network, rising from 30k in July to over 50k in August.

Additionally, the number of Litecoin transactions per day has stayed relatively steady between 15k-30k over the past year, even as prices declined. This shows that user activity remains strong, which will help drive prices when the crypto market eventually turns bullish again.

6-12 Month Litecoin Price Prediction

Given the confluence of bullish fundamental and technical factors mentioned, my prediction is for Litecoin to reach the $100 - $120 range over the next 6-12 months. This would represent significant upside of over 50% from current prices.

I expect LTC will break above its resistance around $68 in the near-term and rally strongly if Bitcoin is also able to break above its own local highs around $25k. Once Litecoin reclaims the psychological $100 level, this will also lead to increased media coverage and more retail investor interest.

The main risks to this outlook would be if the recent crypto market recovery stalls and Bitcoin rolls over back under $20k. However, as long as BTC holds its recent gains, Litecoin should outperform given its still depressed prices relative to network strength and adoption.

Will Litecoin's Price Recover to Its All-Time High This Cycle?

Litecoin still remains over 75% below its all-time high of $410 reached in December 2017. The big question on every LTC holders mind is whether LTC can reclaim its prior high this cycle.

Based on current on-chain and fundamental trends, I don't believe Litecoin will retake its ATH this cycle. While the coin has many bullish things going for it as mentioned earlier, the crypto hype cycle appears to have peaked already for this cycle.

Similar to how the 2013 crypto run peaked with retail euphoria in late 2013, the 2017 run peaked in late 2017. We appear to now be in the downward part of the historic boom/bust pattern rather than at the start of a massive retail hype cycle.

Therefore, a more reasonable target for this cycle would be the $100-150 range rather than anywhere close to LTC's former ATH above $400. However, if crypto mania returns similarly to late 2017, anything is possible when it comes to explosive altcoin upside. But based on today's trends, Litecoin reclaiming its former high looks unlikely for this cycle.

What Will It Take for Litecoin to Reach Top 3 Market Cap Again?

During the peak of the 2017 crypto bubble, Litecoin briefly attained a top 3 ranking by market capitalization, reaching as high as #2 at one point. Since then, LTC has declined to the bottom half of the top 10 as other layer-1 blockchains and altcoins gained prominence.

What will it take for Litecoin to regain a top 3 spot again?

First, it would require a massive wave of new user adoption and capital entering the crypto space, similarly to what propelled Litecoin near the top during the 2017 mania. This would require not just LTC gaining value, but far outpacing growth in other major crypto assets' market caps.

Second, increased real-world usage of Litecoin for payments, transactions, DeFi, NFTs and other applications would be needed. As it stands, Litecoin is still predominantly used as a store of value and for transfers between exchanges. Driving utility would support exponential growth.

Lastly, expanding Litecoin's capabilities through integrations like MimbleWimble and Flare Network will be key for it to compete with rival platforms. Enabling smart contracts, oracle networks, DeFi and more will make LTC stickier and create an ecosystem effect.

While a long shot, if the crypto hype cycle reignites and Litecoin builds utility fast enough, it could possibly reclaim a top 3 rank one day again. But it faces fierce competition, so significant adoption and development would be required.

Conclusion

In summary, Litecoin is showing positive momentum as it builds upon last week's gains. But it still faces overhead resistance and needs to reclaim higher levels to confirm a longer-term bottom is in place. Fundamentally, strength in network hashrate, adoption and use cases are supportive. My outlook is bullish, with a 6-12 month price target of $100-$120. While LTC likely won't retest its ATH this cycle, the project still has room to capture more value and potentially re-enter the top 3 market caps someday with executed development and adoption.