Markets Insider
Litecoin has plunged to the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after dropping half of its market worth in lower than a month.
The cryptocurrency, created by former Coinbase engineer Charlie Lee in 2011 as a faster various to the flagship bitcoin, was price an all-time excessive of $365 as lately as December, according to Markets Insider data.
That value had plunged greater than 59% to $147 by Wednesday morning.
Throughout its astronomical rise, Lee was usually accused of manipulating the value of Litecoin by means of his tweets and public appearances. Lee mentioned in December — when Litecoin was double right now’s value — that he had “offered and donated” all of his holdings.
“At any time when I tweet about Litecoin value and even simply good or unhealthy information, I get accused of doing it for private profit,” Lee said on Reddit. “Some individuals even assume I brief LTC! So in a way, it’s [sic] battle of curiosity for me to carry LTC and tweet about it as a result of I’ve a lot affect.”
Lee didn’t disclose how a lot of the cryptocurrency he offered or donated, however maintained it didn’t have an effect on the value of the asset. Nonetheless, prices fell shortly after his announcement and continued to tumble.
To make sure, litecoin continues to be buying and selling up 4,000% from its costs a 12 months in the past, and presently has a market cap of $10.1 billion. In response to a brand new research from SEMRush, Litecoin (and Ripple)’s good points have come on the expense of Ethereum, which can also be down 24% within the final 24 hours. Most cryptocurrencies took a hit Tuesday after reports China and South Korea are mulling tighter regulatory controls.
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