Litecoin has become a fixture at BitStarz since we added the leading altcoin as a cashier option. What’s great to see is that not only are players jumping at the chance to deposit LTC at BitStarz, but the altcoin is also experiencing a major resurgence within the cryptocurrency market. After staggering and stuttering for the best part of two months, LTC’s price jumped by over 30% on February 14th, with Valentine’s Day showing “hodlers” plenty of Litecoin love!
From BitPay to LitePay
What’s been helping LTC find its feet after a slow start to the year is the news surrounding the creation of an LTC payment service. BitPay is Bitcoin’s shining light, with it being a familiar merchant solution, so Litecoin is now looking to create something similar in the form of LitePay. Announced on February 16th – with it earmarked for a launch on February 26th – the new service could be what helps take LTC to the next level. An official tweet from the LitePay team reads, “We started because the people asked BitPay to accept LTC. They wouldn’t, so we took the challenge.”
More scam than game changer?
LTC has followed the direction of the cryptocurrency market since December, so it’s felt every bump along with the way. News of LitePay has certainly given LTC a boost, with news of a hard fork also generating a bit of extra enthusiasm. The planned hard fork should ideally form Litecoin Cash on February 19th, with promises of a free allocation of 10 tokens per Litecoin held by active “hodlers” at the time of the fork. Since this news became known, it looks like traders have been stockpiling LTC in order to benefit from the upcoming issue of Litecoin Cash tokens. This, in turn, has worked to further help LTC’s price recovery.
The announcement of Litecoin Cash has generated excitement, but much like Bitcoin Cash, it’s not a move that’s without controversy. Litecoin creator has moved quickly to label Litecoin Cash as a “scam”, as his damning tweet speaks volumes. It reads, “PSA: The Litecoin team and I are not forking Litecoin. Any forks that you hear about is a scam trying to confuse you to think it’s related to Litecoin. Don’t fall for it and definitely don’t enter your private keys or seed into their website or client. Be careful out there!”
Litecoin is coming off the fringe!
LTC has always been on the fringes of the mainstream, with it being overshadowed by both Bitcoin and Ethereum for the most part. However, Litecoin is now making a serious case for being a true crypto force. LitePay has the power to really cement LTC’s market position, bringing it much closer to BTC when it comes to out-and-out functionality. Litecoin Cash might prove to be a more controversial development – especially if Lee’s comments are anything to go by – but what can be said is that it’s making LTC a seriously hot topic!
