Image by Eivind Pedersen from Pixabay 

Recent dynamics in the price of Litecoin (LTC) have drawn the attention of investors to consider whether the digital asset could hold at $70 or breakout at $100. Despite a resurgence in the crypto market this week, LTC’s price remains at a narrow level between $81-$83 since the beginning of this month.

LTC’s Price Contradicts Market Trends

Based on technical analysis, the price of Litecoin has continued to move sideways since the start of May. This movement contradicts the bullish momentum in the broader crypto market following the release of April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.

On May 1, LTC traded at about $79.5, as seen in data from TradingView. At the time of this writing, LTC increased to $82.9. This represents a 6.9% increase in the past month. Despite this price increase, Litecoin is behind other top cryptocurrencies by a large margin.

For instance, compared to Litecoin’s 8% uptick, the TOTAL Cap chart, which captures the real-time growth in the cumulative market capitalization of all listed crypto assets, experienced an increase of 15.1%.

Meanwhile, recent on-chain data reveals the accumulation of LTC from large investors often referred to as crypto whales. Their involvement with the digital asset is likely a demonstration of faith for a potential price breakout.

According to Santiment’s chart, as of May 8, Litecoin whales held a total balance of 47.91 million LTC. However, a week later, that figure increased to reach 48 million LTC on May 16. Between this timeframe, the whale investors have spent over $80 million to acquire 90,000 LTC, according to the current market price.

Taking the whales’ recent $80 million LTC accumulation into account, it is possible that the cryptocurrency could be on the verge of a potential breakout towards the $100 mark.

Derivatives Market Indicates Tempered Outlook for LTC 

While the future appears promising for LTC, indicators in the derivatives market reveal an obstacle at the $86 territory. Analysis from Coinglass’ Liquidation heatmap data shows bear traders stand to lose over $5.8 million on leveraged SHORT contracts if Litecoin price moves above $85.9.

To prevent this from happening, many Short traders may look towards cutting down their positions or deploy stop-loss triggers as prices move towards $85.9. In the immediate term, this surge in sell-pressure could put downward pressure on LTC.

However, LTC could flip the $85.9 resistance level and head toward $100 as predicted if the short traders move to hedge their positions with purchases ofLONG spot.

Moreover, new Litecoin fundamentals or bullish updates could cause LTC to rise to $95.47 in the coming weeks. As previously reported by Crypto News Flash, Litecoin creator, Charlie Lee, expressed confidence in the future approval of a Litecoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF).

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