Yes, you’ve spotted it correctly, the red dot above represents the lowest price point litecoin has known this past year. Right before New Years, one litecoin (LTC) was worth 20 euros. Look how far the coin has come since then!

Several different factors have played a part in this price increase. In this article, our main focus is the price and the impact the Litecoin halving has had (contrary to what the name might suggest, no litecoins were harmed during this process).

When you compare Litecoin’s price movements to those of 99 percent of all other altcoins, litecoin can be considered as quite stable. But, compared to gold, bitcoin, and stocks, the litecoin price is still very volatile. Above you will find all of Litecoin’s highs and lows in a row.

• Litecoin is launched in 2011, and its initial value is 26 cents.

• On November 18, 2013, one litecoin is worth approximately 4.40 euros. The value increased tenfold in just 10 days! Unfortunately the euphoria doesn’t last for long, since the demise of cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox is pulling the entire crypto market down. It will take a long time before litecoin reaches new heights.

• Litecoin starts the year 2017 with a value of around 3.50 euros.

• Halfway through 2017, on August 24, litecoin exceeds the 44 euro mark for the first time since 2013.

The maximum amount of litecoins that will be on the market in total has been set at 84 million, compared to the amount of bitcoins that are   programmed in the Bitcoin protocol, which are 21 million. That difference influences the price. Litecoin will be less scarce than bitcoin, if its maximum number of coins is four times as high. And a lack of scarcity means a lower litecoin price then bitcoin price.

New litecoins become available to the market just like new bitcoins do. They are mined by miners, who receive a reward in LTC for processing transactions and keeping the network safe.

Miners receive a reward in the form of newly created litecoins, for adding blocks (containing litecoin transactions) to the blockchain. This reward is halved every 840,000 blocks.

What consequences does a block halving have for the price? Some traders believe that the Litecoin block halving directly influences its value, because many miners sell a part (or perhaps all) of their litecoin to pay for their electricity costs and depreciation of the mining equipment.

After the halving (which takes place approximately every four years), miners receive less litecoin, which means less coins can be sold. But when the supply and demand remain completely constant, that could potentially lead to a price increase.

There is also a piece of mass psychology involved; smart as the market is, everyone wants to benefit from the halving. Starting from January 2019 you could see that the market was stocking up on litecoin more and more in anticipation of the halving. The price continued to rise until the halving in August. On the price chart you can see that from that moment on, the litecoin price mainly fell.

Hopefully you now have enough tools at your disposal to determine if this is a good time to buy litecoin. Or as a wise man once said, the best day to buy litecoin was yesterday. The second best day? Today.

Download BLOX in order to obtain litecoin within two minutes.

Pro tip: if you would like to invest in litecoin (and other cryptocurrencies), only do so with resources that you can afford to lose.