Litecoin Leads Altcoin Rally with Whale Accumulation and Explosive On-Chain Growth

• Litecoin has emerged as a standout performer in the crypto market’s recovery phase, trading at $100.
• LTC posted a remarkable 16% gain on Friday, solidifying its leadership among top altcoins and boosting its market cap by 10%.

According to on-chain analytics firm Santiment, “Litecoin has decoupled above the already roaring altcoin pack to end the week, jumping +16.2% Friday and returning above $102.” This marks one of the strongest performances among major cryptocurrencies, a sign of renewed investor confidence and heightened network activity.

Santiment highlighted two primary drivers behind Litecoin’s surge: a 6% increase in wallets holding 100,000 or more LTC over the past three months, indicating steady accumulation from whales, and a record-breaking $15.1 billion in daily on-chain transaction volume. This is the highest level in Litecoin’s history.

These factors set Litecoin apart from other altcoins for now. With whale accumulation supporting the uptrend and on-chain activity hitting record highs, the recent price surge appears to be grounded in solid fundamentals rather than short-term speculation.

Further reinforcing the trend, Litecoin’s trading volume has jumped 199% to $1.74 billion, while its market capitalization now stands at $7.7 billion, securing its spot within the top 20 cryptocurrencies. Derivatives activity has also spiked, Litecoin’s futures volume surged 221.68% to $2.14 billion, and open interest climbed 25.41% to $441.46 million.

Data from CoinCodex shows that Litecoin’s price has climbed 42% over the past year, outperforming 75% of the top 100 crypto assets, including both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Litecoin reached its ATH in May 2021 when it reached $ 410.76. At press time, Litecoin is trading around $100, up 11.32% in the past 24 hours and 1.88% over the week. Analysts suggest that if LTC manages to close above $109, the next potential target lies near $119.

However, maintaining the crucial $100 support level will be key; failure to hold above it could trigger a pullback toward $92.

ETF Progress Despite U.S. Government Shutdown

On September 18, the SEC approved new “generic listing standards” for commodity-based exchange-traded products,  including those tied to cryptocurrencies. These rules allow national exchanges, like the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market, and Cboe Global Markets, to list spot crypto ETFs faster under a streamlined process.

Because of the reform, the approval process timeline for spot crypto ETFs has been significantly reduced (from up to ~240 days under the old approach to as little as ~75 days or fewer under the new standards.

One prospectus is from Canary Capital Group LLC, the “Canary Litecoin ETF” Trust, which filed in October 2024, describing a fund holding LTC and seeking to allow share exposures tied to LTC.

More recently, Canary Capital announced plans to launch U.S. exchange-traded products (ETPs) tied to Litecoin and Hedera (HBR) despite the government shutdown. The firm is taking advantage of the new generic listing standards.

The U.S. government shutdown, which began on October 1, has impacted the routine operations of the SEC. While core functions continue, non-essential reviews have been delayed or deprioritized.

Despite this, some asset managers appear to have used workarounds: For example, parquet filings for the Litecoin/Hedera ETPs leveraged recently clarified pathways like automatic effectiveness under Section 8(a) of the Securities Act to proceed even amidst the shutdown.