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Litecoin Transactions Hit Record High as Bitcoin Fees Surge Amid BRC-20 Frenzy
Transaction fees on the Bitcoin blockchain have hit a two-year high due to the rising popularity of so-called BRC-20 tokens.
Updated May 12, 2023, 6:49 p.m. Published May 9, 2023, 7:59 p.m.
Transactions on the Litecoin blockchain have surged to all-time highs as the meme coin frenzy and subsequently high fees on the Bitcoin network send crypto users scrambling for alternatives.
On May 8, Litecoin executed more than 525,000 transactions in a day, coming close to Bitcoin’s 575,000 daily transactions, according to blockchain data from BitInfoCharts. It is five times the average number of transactions on the Litecoin blockchain compared to earlier this year and more than double the previous all-time high near the peak of the bull market in January 2018.
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The development comes as the Bitcoin blockchain, the home of bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is experiencing an extreme level of congestion due to a frenzy of new Bitcoin-based BRC-20 tokens. BRC-20 is a token standard that lets users create and transfer tokens on the Ordinals Protocol using the Bitcoin network.
The rising popularity of BRC-20 tokens has pushed Bitcoin transaction fees to the highest level since May 2021, after BTC hit a then-record peak of around $64,000. It also led Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, to temporarily halt withdrawals via Bitcoin early Monday.
Bitcoin’s congestion has sent users scrambling for cheaper alternatives such as stablecoins and the Lightning network to transfer value via blockchain.
Litecoin has garnered a fresh wave of activity, too. Glassnode data shows that on top of a record amount of transactions, the number of active wallet addresses rose to a record high of 718,000 on Monday. Crypto users also created almost 500,000 new Litecoin addresses in a day recently, the Litecoin Foundation tweeted citing Glassnode.
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
The price of LTC, the native token of Litecoin, has jumped about 3.5% in the past 24 hours, trading at around $80. It has outperformed BTC, which is up roughly 1% on the day.
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Coinbase Sees Crypto Recovery Ahead as Liquidity Improves and Fed Rate Cut Odds Climb
The crypto exchange also took note of a so-called AI bubble that continues to go strong and a weaker U.S. dollar.
What to know:
- Coinbase Institutional is seeing a potential December recovery in crypto, citing improving liquidity and a shift in macroeconomic conditions that could favor risk assets like bitcoin.
- The firm's optimism is driven by rising odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with markets pricing in a 93% chance easing next week, and improving liquidity conditions.
- Several recent institutional developments, including Vanguard's crypto ETF policy reversal and Bank of America's greenlighting of crypto allocations, have contributed to bitcoin's rebound from recent lows.
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