{"id":39681,"date":"2018-03-27T08:21:39","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T15:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=39681"},"modified":"2019-11-07T02:33:18","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T02:33:18","slug":"litecoin-price-dips-litepay-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/litecoin-price-dips-litepay-announcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Litecoin Price Dips After Litepay Announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Litecoin Foundation released a statement<\/a> on Monday, 26th of March that the exciting new payment option for Litecoin was abruptly shutting down and ceasing all operations.<\/p>\n

\"Litecoin\"
Litecoin is the 5th ranked cryptocurrency by market cap.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The statement went on to say that Kenneth Asare was unable to detail where the money that he was spending was going and was operating in a less than transparent nature.<\/p>\n

They were unable to give him any further funds due to this and That he refused to go into further detail about the company or show any objective evidence to back up his statements.<\/p>\n

Following this announcement, Litecoin<\/a> dropped a further 10%, it is currently sitting at\u00a0 $147.84, and it is down roughly 37.5% for the year so far.<\/p>\n

What was Litepay?<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Once considered an exciting payment option for Litecoin, Litepay will cease operations entirely.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Litepay\u00a0aimed to deliver “the world\u2019s first borderless payment network,\u201d hoping to be a turning point for cryptocurrencies and in particular Litecoin.<\/p>\n

The payment network would allow users to have a Litepay\u00a0debit card, meaning that anywhere that accepts debit cards you would be able to spend your Litecoins.<\/p>\n

According to their website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“Merchants will be able to accept Litecoin (LTC) without worrying about the current price volatility in cryptocurrency. When you spend Litecoin at the store, LitePay instantly converts the Litecoins into the local fiat currency and deposits the money into the merchant\u2019s bank account.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The idea that users could finally easily and freely spend their cryptocurrency was met with a very positive public reaction.<\/p>\n

The debit card was due to be available in late February, it was then delayed to early March, and finally, there was the announcement that Kenneth Asare, the CEO had ceased all operations and was planning to sell the company. (the website is currently still active)<\/p>\n

The Backlash<\/h2>\n

The Litecoin Foundation and Litecoin Creator Charlie Lee both publicly backed the payments startup. However, following the collapse of the startup, they have issued statements apologizing for overlooking the warning signs.<\/p>\n

Charlie Lee has now issued a\u00a0public apology:<\/p>\n

\n

Like everyone else, we got too excited about something that was too good to be true and we optimistically overlooked many of the warning signs. I am sorry for having hyped up this company and vow to do better due diligence in the future. https:\/\/t.co\/khIjeHnyZ1<\/a><\/p>\n

— Charlie Lee [LTC\u26a1] (@SatoshiLite) March 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n