Litecoin prices surged nearly 70% today, ending months of stagnant market activity.
Prices for the alternative cryptocurrency rose to as much as $7.04 on CoinMarketCap, compared to $4.18 at the start of trading – a rise of about 68%. According to the data, most of the trading has taken place on Poloniex, OKCoin and Huobi.
At press time, the price is averaging around $6.30 across exchanges.
Prior to today's rally, the digital currency had seen little price volatility since roughly the start of February. In that time, litecoin prices have fluctuated within a range close to $4, market data shows. Its price reached as much as $48 in late 2013.
As for what's driving the rally, market observers aren't so sure.
One theory floated related to efforts to integrate Segregated Witness – originally proposed as an upgrade to bitcoin's code – with litecoin, though figures show that adoption has been slow amongst the altcoin's miners.
At least one trader has expressed surprise in light of the rally. Charles Hayter, co-founder and CEO of CryptoCompare, told CoinDesk that he wasn't clear on what was causing prices to rise.
Tim Enneking, chairman of Crypto Asset Management, offered a similar take, stating:
Another possible culprit: traders are simply chasing possible gains in the altcoin markets.
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"Traders have itchy trigger fingers after the recent market volatility and are looking to jump on moves and therefore exacerbate them," Hayter said.
Images via CoinMarketCap; Shutterstock