Litecoin: Does ‘security’ status prove ‘silver to BTC’s gold’ tag?

• LTC was being snapped up by both retail investors and whales.
• Most large investors who amassed LTC tokens in June have been HODLing them..

Litecoin [LTC] has emerged as a glimmer of light among the market’s overall unfavorable sentiment towards altcoins.

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According to data from blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock dated 19 June, network activity on the proof-of-work (PoW) chain witnessed a significant uptick over the last week.

While the number of unique addresses involved in LTC transactions jumped 28%, the number of new wallets created on the network saw an impressive 54% spike.

These statistics underlined the growing strength of the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold” and its increasing mainstream adoption.

Source: IntoTheBlock

Insulated from regulators’ ire

LTC has largely been unfazed by the increasing regulatory hostilities in the crypto space, which have destroyed top altcoins in its path.

The claims by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which referred to altcoins like Solana [SOL], Cardano [ADA], Polygon [MATIC], and Binance Coin [BNB] as securities, sent shockwaves across the industry.

However, LTC’s absence from the latest lawsuit confirmed its image as a dependable decentralized asset that has long been impervious to external agencies’ aggressive stance.

Whale, retail adoption jumps

The asset’s increasing retail adoption was a testament to this narrative. Wallets containing less than 10 LTCs have soared in the last month and a half, according to Santiment. The driving force behind this was the introduction of the LTC-20 token standard.

Source: Santiment

But LTC’s growth was not just fueled by retail holdings. Large investors, also called whales, jumped on the bandwagon as well. Since the beginning of June, the user cohort holding 1,000-1 million coins has grown significantly.

Source: Santiment

LTC accumulation going on?

The positive sentiment surrounding LTC prompted investors to see the token as a long-term investment. Most of the large investors who amassed LTC tokens in June have been HODLing them rather than cashing them out.

The rising slope of the Mean Coin Age metric signaled an accumulation trend as well.

Source: Santiment

How much are 1,10,100 LTCs worth today?

Litecoin’s halving event is just one-and-a-half months away, which will be its third after 2015 and 2019. This could be another factor that could drive LTC demand and subsequent accumulation in the near term. Historically, LTC prices have soared in the aftermath of the halving.

However, despite these notable achievements, LTC has dropped 19% over the past two weeks, as per CoinMarketCap. At press time, it was valued at $76.99.