Litecoin Lighting Up, Approaching $200: LTC News Roundup

A strong wave of positive sentiment is currently reinvigorating the flagging crypto market, with instant payment focused cryptocurrency Litecoin recovering lost ground on the back of a spate of positive announcements and exchange listings.

Litecoin has experienced a shaky start to 2018, with LTC prices dropping dramatically subsequent to the cancellation of the widely-hyped LitePay launch. With Litecoin recently listed on Korbit — South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange — paired with the announcement of a popular wallet provider TenX launching LTC support, however, Litecoin is making a strong comeback and appears to be ready to break back into the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

LitePay Post-Mortem

Litecoin prices have suffered over the last month due to the failed launch of the LitePay platform. The LitePay project, which promised to facilitate instantaneous crypto-to-fiat conversion across 38 different countries, was set to create one of the most attractive crypto-based payment systems in the world until the sudden cancellation of the project caused the value of LTC to plummet.

Litecoin Foundation director of operations Keith Yong announced the cancellation of the LitePay project on the 26th of March via the Litecoin Foundation blog, stating that Litepay CEO Kenneth Asare would be ceasing all operations and is preparing to sell the company.

Yong stated that the Litecoin foundation refused funding requests from Asare due to the LitePay CEO’s “less than transparent nature” and failure to deliver a “satisfactory picture of where the money had been spent.”

The cancellation of the LitePay project say LTC values drop from $160 to a low of $121 in late March, but recent announcements made over the subsequent month have seen LTC push beyond the $140 level.

Litecoin Bounces Back

Litecoin’s recent resurgence can be attributed in part to the announcement of a partnership with TenX, who will integrate LTC support. The wallet provider has already launched LTC support on both their iOS and Android apps and, in a surprising move, have announced their intent to launch a TenX Litecoin debit card.

TenX recently added LTC to their wallets, and we are working with them to launch a Litecoin debit card. Stay tuned for more information. LitePay who? 😂 #PayWithLitecoin https://t.co/T54jK2Obr9

— Charlie Lee [LTC⚡] (@SatoshiLite) April 11, 2018

With TenX offering Litecoin a proven, established payment gateway solution, the possibilities offered by the defunct LitePay platform are likely to be delivered by the new partnership.

TenX has announced it will support LTC, while Korbit, South Korea’s biggest exchange, launched Litecoin trading. TenX announced the upcoming Litecoin card via Medium:

“We are also excited to announce a new partnership; we have reached out to, and are working with the Litecoin Foundation to introduce a co-branded card for which more information will be available soon. We hope to become the preferred payment platform for fans and owners of Litecoin”

In addition to a new payment gateway partnership, Litecoin has also recently announced a partnership with investment app Abra, who, according to Charlie Lee, will be using smart contracts on the Litecoin network in the near future

Great interview with Abra CEO @billbarhydt! Looking forward to @AbraGlobal using smart contracts on the Litecoin network in about 2 weeks. 👍
https://t.co/lKiLRdrS6B

— Charlie Lee [LTC] (@SatoshiLite) March 21, 2018

Tenx and Abra aren’t the only major platforms teaming up with Litecoin recently, however. Cryptocurrency wallet and payment card provider Wirex this week hinted towards LTC support, indicating that the platform is likely to begin facilitating Litecoin to fiat payments.

Coming Soon! #LTC #litecoin @SatoshiLite pic.twitter.com/JQqc9iFJoT

— Wirex (@wirexapp) April 17, 2018

Litecoin has also captured strategic territory on the exchange front. Highly popular South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit — which boasts a $79 million 24 hour trading volume — has launched LTC support. Gathering support in the influential South Korean market has assisted with LTC’s recovery, with the announcement pushing Litecoin closer to the $160 level.

Charlie Lee Wants You to Pay for Porn With LTC

While the crypto community doesn’t appear to have fully forgiven Litecoin for the LitePay fiasco just yet — founder Charlie Lee was recently roasted on Twitter for attempting to capitalize on the recent Verge Pornhub announcement hype.

Turns out Verge’s super expensive partnership was PornHub. “we think it has gained enough steam for us to penetrate the market.” penetrate. 😂@Pornhub, enough with the foreplay. Time to accept the real cryptocurrencies like BTC, LTC, and XMR. 🚀
https://t.co/9IboL6LnNn

— Charlie Lee [LTC] (@SatoshiLite) April 17, 2018

Lee’s comments may have sparked a comical discussion within the crypto community but the Litecoin creator raised some valid points regarding the Verge partnership debacle, stating that

“Having more places to spend crypto is good but it’s “hard for people to get XVG just to spend on PornHub … having to buy a partner is not a good precedent. Merchants shouldn’t need to be bribed.”

Whether or not Lee’s double entendres are intentional or not, it’s clear that he’s steering the Litecoin project back in the right direction. With Litecoin exhibiting strong indicators and the impending launch of Litecoin payment cards, it’s possible that we’ll see Litecoin push toward the $200 level over the next month.