This was news I was not expecting this week. As I prepared myself for the Monday open, my focus was on the stock market charts (lower high swings!) and energy. Oil with a flag and Natural Gas to hit 100% gains year to date. More on that tomorrow. As markets begin to roll over, and Oil breaks my flag, the real action is happening in Litecoin (LTC). That crypto that everyone seemed to forget.
Litecoin is basically similar to Bitcoin. However, it seems to be faster and cheaper. If crypto’s are going to be used for money, these are two things they need to solve. I am looking at you Ethereum with the gas fees.
Why Litecoin? Released in 2011, Litecoin is one of the oldest digital currencies in the crypto ecosystem. Litecoin (LTC) is similar to Bitcoin (BTC), in that it uses the same code as the latter, and shares many similarities. However, Litecoin is cheaper and faster than Bitcoin. Litecoin is also a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that facilitates cross-border transactions and enhances digital payment systems. Like Bitcoin, Litecoin has no central authority.
Litecoin was designed to be used for cheaper transactions, and to be more efficient for everyday use. While Litecoin requires more sophisticated technology to mine than Bitcoin, blocks are actually generated up to four times faster. Litecoin also processes financial transactions a lot quicker.
Some of you crypto OG’s might remember Litecoin, and its creator who sold his coins and took profit. But back in the day, before Ethereum was a thing, Litecoin was the number two crypto. The comparison was that if Bitcoin is the digital Gold, Litecoin is the digital Silver. And I love silver.
Major news out today. Walmart has announced a major partnership with Litecoin. The number 1 US retailer and the world’s largest grocer will be accepting Litecoin for payments. Starting October 1st, Walmart’s eCommerce store will have a ‘Pay with Litecoin’ option. Something I just learned today is that apparently Walmart has been an early adopter of Blockchain, implementing a trial of the technology in 2016 for improvements in supply chain.
“The momentum and excitement around the use of cryptocurrency are undeniable, and we are poised to make online shopping easy for our customers. As a leading eCommerce store, we are committed to bringing innovations to the online shopping experience. By integrating Litecoin, we will enable shoppers to experience a very smooth checkout experience with near instant transaction confirmation, and near-zero fees regardless of where in the world they are. We’re very excited to be working together with the Litecoin Foundation, and further innovate our business. Starting October 1st, all eCommerce stores will have implemented a ‘Pay with Litecoin Option,'” said Doug McMillon, Walmart CEO.
Charlie Lee, Litecoin’s creator and the CEO of Litecoin Foundation shared, “LTC’s super low fees and fast transaction times are perfect for a leading eCommerce store like Walmart. We are thrilled and extremely excited that our cryptocurrency is now supported by Walmart, opening up more opportunities for any merchants to accept Litecoin in the future.”
This is a big deal and in a year where we have begun to see institutions and corporations adopt and open up to Blockchain and cryptocurrency. We saw El Salvador adopt Bitcoin as legal tender last week, and now this Litecoin news?!
All good right? Nope.
As I am writing this piece, more evidence is coming out that all of this is FAKE NEWS. CNBC, states that no Walmart spokesmen is available to verify this partnership, and it is not immediately clear if this news is authentic.
Zerohedge rips this even more by saying that the email address links to a site that is not Walmart’s. Also that the verified twitter account for Litecoin has now deleted the press release tweet.
If it comes out that this was all a pump and false, it adds more pressure for the calls of regulation. The SEC and other regulatory bodies coming out to say they want to protect the average Joe trader/investor who lost money on this type of fake news.
Look at today’s daily candle. What turned out to be a monster green rally, suddenly fizzled out. The 20% gains today…gone. The daily candle is now RED.
Technically, we still are at a major support zone. $170 zone has been acting as price floor since the beginnings of August. Momentum has a chance to continue if we hold above. However, if this news is confirmed false, it might lead to more selling pressure on the headline. We could see support break and Litecoin tumble.
This is the key technical area for this week. I’ll give you some excitement though. When I began writing this piece this morning, Litecoin was green, and looked like it was ready to confirm a higher low. Meaning we were about to take out recent highs at $232. A close above that on the daily chart, would take us to above $300 levels. But instead, merp, you see what happened.
Let’s watch support. Other crypto’s did not move even with this Litecoin pump. Bitcoin and Ethereum both remain very weak and look ready to roll over. Litecoin may very well follow.