By
Bena Ilyas
May 13th, 2024
According to on-chain data from Glassnode, the Litecoin network exceeded the Bitcoin ecosystem in new addresses created for the first time.
The rise of new meme coins in the cryptocurrency market has significantly changed the blockchain dynamics in the recent past. The introduction of Bitcoin-based standard tokens dubbed BRC-20 – similar to ERC-20 on the Ethereum network – by @domodata, a Twitter user, on March 8th, 2023, has increased congestion in the Bitcoin network. Moreover, the BRC-20 tokens are attached to the Bitcoin transactions as metadata, thus consuming the block space.
The effect was mostly felt economically when the largest centralized exchange by daily traded volume Binance announced over the weekend that it had temporarily closed Bitcoin withdrawals. While the exchange layer resumed normal Bitcoin operations, the average transaction fees on the BTC network have significantly spiked in the past few days. According to aggregate data provided by Bitinfocharts, the average Bitcoin transaction fee was less than five dollars in the past year. However, the figure has since spiked more than $20, approaching $30 on Tuesday. Interestingly, some centralized exchanges have been reported to charge as much as $60 to initiate a Bitcoin transaction.
The irony stands when some crypto investors pay as much as $60 to purchase BRC-meme coins worth $10 and below. Nevertheless, there is the lightning network that significantly reduces the average transaction fees on the Bitcoin network.
Litecoin Network Catches Up with Bitcoin
The Litecoin network has proved resourceful amid Bitcoin’s network congestion. Moreover, the average transaction fee on the Litecoin network has been on the decline in the past few weeks, lower than $0.01. As a result, the daily transactions on Litecoin’s network have spiked to a new all-time high, above 520k. Similarly, the Bitcoin network processed as many as 520k transactions on Tuesday, according to on-chain aggregate data from Bitinfocharts.
Notably, the Litecoin network is preparing for its third halving in 84 days, which is scheduled on August 3, 2023. The effect of the halving is similar to Bitcoin’s, which triggers a fresh bull market. As a result, the Litecoin network has attracted more investors and FOMO traders in anticipation of the halving rally.
According to on-chain data from Glassnode, the Litecoin network exceeded the Bitcoin ecosystem in new addresses created for the first time.
New addresses being created on #Litecoin are now exceeding new #Bitcoin addresses. $LTC #MondayMotivation #crypto pic.twitter.com/NNJ4RfXeD6
— Litecoin Foundation ⚡️ (@LTCFoundation) May 8, 2023
Market Outlook
Following an increased on-chain activity in the Litecoin network, the underlying value of LTC is expected to increase with heightened demand. According to the latest crypto market data, Litecoin’s price was up about 2 percent on Wednesday to trade around $79.29. The Litecoin ecosystem had a fully diluted valuation of about $6.66 billion on Wednesday with a daily traded volume of approximately $466 million.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, traded around $27,615, down approximately 3.6 percent in the past few days.