Hitting Over $2 Billion Market Cap, Litecoin Stole Crypto Show Last Week
The global cryptocurrency community was panic stricken for the most part of the past week. A depression that has been nicknamed by Cointelegraph as the "crypto massacre" saw almost every virtual currency bleeding profusely.
It was a doomsday of sorts, and many attributed the gloom to a couple of issues. Some said the Bitcoin scaling debate was to blame for the mass slump of cryptos. Another theory attributed it to DDoS attacks currently affecting Bitcoin exchanges.
But towards the end of the week, a ray of hope appeared, with various digital currencies emerging from the ashes and appreciating in value. It was fantastic to observe the speedy recovery of these cryptocurrencies, with some making admirable gains while others are yet to recover from their losses.
Shaken, but not stirred
Early in the week, it was IOTA who caused an upset by invading the top 10 and taking over the sixth spot. The move ensured that Monero and Bytecoin parted ways with the elite top 10.
It also resulted in BitShares and Stratis being pushed down the ladder. They now occupy the ninth and tenth positions respectively. It was a major shake up that indeed caused some mayhem.
But the IOTA rampage capsized when the only exchange that has listed it so far endured a DDoS attack. This saw the newcomer being pushed to the eighth position.
Litecoin ascending
However, the most intriguing movement came with Litecoin. In fact, the SegWit pacesetter jumped three places to be the world's number four crypto on Saturday. In the process, it pushed aside IOTA, NEM and Ethereum Classic, when just last Wednesday it was ranked seventh.
At the time writing on Sunday morning, LTC was being sold for 43.12 USD, and its market cap has surpassed the 2$ bln mark. In the past few weeks, the currency has gone through a metamorphosis.
First, they successfully activated SegWit and statements from the team indicated that there has yet to be a blemish. Then, the Chinese government lifted its ban on the withdrawal of Litecoin and Satoshis at exchanges. Finally, the community became aware with bliss of Charlie Lee's resignation from Coinbase to concentrate fully on his brainchild.