Litecoin's 1.56% Price Surge to $60.76: Key Takeaways for September 12, 2023

Litecoin saw a moderate 1.56% price increase over the past 24 hours to $60.76, continuing its recovery from recent lows. The cryptocurrency now has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion. Here are the key takeaways from Litecoin's latest price action and indicators.

The 24-hour trading volume reached $317.04 million, suggesting decent interest and activity around LTC currently. The trading volume will need to increase substantially, however, for a more decisive move upwards.

Over the past hour, Litecoin dropped 0.13%, indicating a pause in the short-term uptrend. However, the coin remains well above its 20-day moving average, reflecting an improving technical picture.

Zooming out further, Litecoin has declined 3.61% over the past week. The cryptocurrency market as a whole has pulled back recently, so LTC remains strongly correlated to Bitcoin's price action.

Looking at the monthly timeframe, Litecoin has plunged 27.50% over the past 30 days. Much of this drop occurred in mid-August when forced liquidations exacerbated downside momentum. The positive takeaway is LTC has found relative support around $50.

Over the past 6 months, Litecoin has lost 20.82% against the U.S. dollar. The coin has been rangebound between approximately $40 and $100 for all of 2022 so far, unable to break out in either direction.

Will Litecoin Revisit its All-Time High Soon?

Litecoin hit an all-time high price of $412.96 in December 2017, fueled by the overall crypto bubble and enthusiasm around altcoins. More than five years later, LTC is still 85% away from reclaiming this record level.

Based on current momentum and market structure, Litecoin is unlikely to challenge its ATH again over the next 6-12 months. While further upside is expected, LTC would need a parabolic advance with massive retail FOMO to reach $400+ sustainably anytime soon.

For starters, Litecoin lacks a compelling narrative or active development compared to Ethereum and other leading smart contract platforms right now. LTC benefits from its first-mover advantage, but network effects appear to be waning.

Crypto traders have also become more disciplined and less prone to speculation since the 2018 bear market. Big upside moves require substantial demand from new users, which Litecoin lacks in today's more mature market.

That said, if the crypto market enters a new bull cycle, we could see LTC make a run towards $200. This would require Bitcoin reclaiming $50,000+ convincingly and the overall NFT/metaverse space catching fire again.

Is Litecoin Undervalued Relative to Bitcoin?

Despite underperforming the market recently, Litecoin looks potentially undervalued relative to Bitcoin based on historical norms. The LTC/BTC ratio is an important metric for traders to watch.

Over the past decade, Litecoin has traded in a range from 0.004 to 0.04 BTC. At the current ratio of 0.0018, LTC appears quite undervalued relative to the historical relationship.

If the ratio returns to the midpoint of 0.022, Litecoin's price would climb to around $130 assuming Bitcoin holds $60,000. This scenario seems reasonable during the next leg higher for crypto.

However, for the LTC/BTC ratio to strongly recover, Litecoin needs renewed enthusiasm and bullish price action of its own. If Bitcoin rallies but leaves altcoins behind, the ratio could stagnate or even decline further.

It's also notable that both coins have a fixed supply, so neither benefits from inflation in the ratio calculation. This technical factor makes it more difficult for Litecoin to outpace Bitcoin over long periods.

Conclusion

In summary, Litecoin has rebounded 1.56% over the past day, signaling a pause in the recent downtrend. While further upside is likely over the coming months, LTC appears unlikely to revisit its all-time high near $400 anytime soon without a massive shift in market conditions. However, the LTC/BTC ratio suggests the cryptocurrency still looks undervalued relative to Bitcoin based on historical norms. Traders should watch this key ratio closely for signs of accumulation and shifting market momentum.