Litecoin (LTC) has reached a historic milestone, as reported by IntoTheBlock. The network now boasts over five million long-term holders, comprising an impressive 62.5% of all LTC addresses with a balance. This achievement marks a significant moment for the cryptocurrency, demonstrating its widespread adoption and long-term viability.
The growth in long-term holders has been particularly notable in recent months. The number surged by 170,000 in just over a week at the end of February, signaling a strong trend toward holding LTC for extended periods. Additionally, the number of “Crusiers,” who have held LTC for 1-12 12 months, stands at 2.54 million addresses and continues to grow steadily.
Beyond these numbers, the profitability of holding LTC long-term is an intriguing aspect. On-chain data reveals that a substantial 67.67% of all LTC addresses are currently in profit. These addresses, totaling 5.43 million, hold a combined balance of 49.76 million LTC.
Conversely, 26.8% of LTC holders find themselves at a loss, comprising 2.15 million addresses with a combined balance of 20.6 million LTC. A smaller fraction, accounting for 5.53% of holders, are hovering around a breakeven point.
The rise of Litecoin traces back to its inception in 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer. Lee created LTC as a “lite” version of Bitcoin, aiming to improve upon some of Bitcoin’s perceived limitations, such as transaction speed and scalability. With its faster block generation time and a different hashing algorithm (Scrypt), Litecoin quickly gained traction as a viable alternative to Bitcoin.
