Why is Litecoin (LTC) price up today?

Litecoin (LTC) has outperformed the broader crypto market vastly in the last 24 hours, rising over 9% to reach $127.85 on Feb. 27.

In contrast, the crypto market’s combined valuation has dropped by 3% amid a sour risk-on mood led by underwhelming Nvidia earnings and US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcements.

Key drivers behind Litecoin’s gains include:

Announcement of Litecoin’s own domain, “.ltc“

LTC’s rising strength against Bitcoin (BTC).

Strengthening chart technicals.

Litecoin announces official domain extension “.ltc“

Litecoin’s price gains today appear after the cryptocurrency’s official X handle announced the launch of its own domain extension.

What to know:

On Feb. 25, 2025, Litecoin announced the launch of its official domain extension, “.ltc,” in collaboration with Unstoppable Domains.

Litecoin’s move mirrors Ethereum’s .eth domains, which have gained popularity as an essential part of Web3 identity solutions.

With .ltc domains, users can register personalized blockchain-based addresses instead of relying on long alphanumeric wallet addresses.

Domain extension should ideally make sending and receiving LTC payments seamless by reducing the chances of errors in transactions.

LTC’s price has risen by approximately 22% since the domain extension announcement.

LTC’s strength against Bitcoin is improving

Litecoin’s gains today are also due to its consistently strong performance against Bitcoin, which controls about 60% of the entire crypto market valuation.

Key points:

The LTC/BTC pair has climbed approximately 40% year-to-date.

In comparison, Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) have plunged by over 24.45% and 20.50% against Bitcoin, respectively.

Litecoin’s crypto market dominance has improved due to the ongoing exchange-traded fund (ETF) buzz.

Ether and Bitcoin saw similar uptrends ahead of their spot ETF approvals in 2024.

Earlier in February, Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, noted that there is a 90% likelihood of a Litecoin ETF being approved in 2025.

On the Polymarket betting platform, the odds for a spot Litecoin ETF approval by 2025’s end was 75% as of Feb. 27.

On Feb. 19, the US Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledged CoinShares spot Litecoin filings ETF.

Litecoin hashrate is rising

Litecoin is bucking the market downtrend as network fundamentals strengthen, with miners accumulating and hashrate reaching new highs.

Notably:

Related: Litecoin txs surge 243% in 5 months amid ETF hype: Santiment

Reduced miner selling, rising network strength, and sustained demand position LTC for further upside potential.

LTC is eyeing $360 next

Litecoin’s gains today are part of its prevailing inverse head and shoulders (IH&S) pattern, a classic bullish reversal setup signaling a potential breakout.

Key takeaways:

An IH&S is a technical pattern that forms after a downtrend and consists of three key troughs: a left shoulder, a lower head, and a right shoulder, forming underneath a neckline resistance.

The pattern resolves when the price decisively breaks above the neckline and rises by as much as the maximum distance between the head’s trough and neckline.

As of Feb. 27, Litecoin was forming the pattern’s right shoulder while eyeing the breakout above its neckline resistance of around $130.

The resulting target is around $160, suggesting a potential rally by March if the breakout sustains.

Failure to hold above $130 could lead to a retest of lower support levels near the 50-4H EMA ($123.80) and approaching the 200-4H EMA ($120.41).

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.