Litecoin Prices Surge to $186 as Investors Look for Other Cryptocurrency Opportunities

Garrett Baldwin

Litecoin prices skyrocketed 30% as investors look for new opportunities in the cryptocurrency market.

The crypto community is still debating how the trading of Bitcoin futures will affect prices, and newer crypto investors don't like the idea of paying more than $16,000 to own one coin. The Litecoin Foundation is also making a marketing push to bring more awareness to the "silver" to Bitcoin's "gold."

Speaking of Bitcoin futures, the Chicago Board of Exchange (CBOE) introduced Bitcoin futures last night (Dec. 10, 2017) under the ticker XBT.

At around 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, a two-minute halt occurred after Bitcoin futures prices rallied more than 10%. Another five-minute halt came after prices added another 20% around 10 p.m. EST.

The price topped $16,750 around the same time that noted economist and hedge fund manager Nassim Taleb suggested that Bitcoin could hit $100,000.

He also said that it will be nearly impossible for investors to time their shorts of the cryptocurrency. Taleb is perhaps best known for his research on "black swan" events and for predicting the 2008 financial crisis.

"No, there is NO way to properly short the Bitcoin 'bubble,'" he said on Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) before CBOE launched Bitcoin futures trading.

"Any strategy that doesn't entail options is non-ergodic (subjected to blowup). Just as one couldn't rule out 5K, then 10K, one can't rule out 100K," he said.

Below is a recap of the top cryptocurrency prices at 10:00 a.m. EST.

• Bitcoin: $16,573.40, +8.73%
• Ethereum: $475.57, +5.67%
• Bitcoin Cash: $1,380.28, +2.78%
• IOTA: $4.18, -3.71%
• Ripple: $0.248, +3.95%
• Litecoin: $186.87, +30.43%

Now that we know all of today's price movements, here's what has been moving these cryptocurrencies…

Cryptocurrency Markets Today

On Monday, the market capitalization of the global cryptocurrency sector hit $443.48 billion. Bitcoin now comprises 63.2% of the global cryptocurrency market. Just nine of the top 100 cryptocurrencies were in the red this morning thanks to the huge surge of investments flowing into the sector.

Top performers from the largest 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Santiment Network (up 43.03%), Waves (up 31.65%), TRON (up 28.90%), Nxt (up 26.94%), Ardor (up 23.62%), MonaCoin (up 22.26%), and Basic Attention (up 21.41%).

Some of the worst performers from the top 50 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Einsteinium (down -5.78%), QASH (down -2.97%), and Tether (down -0.34%).

Bloomberg Questions the Authenticity of Bitcoin

Over the weekend, Bloomberg released a controversial report that raises questions about the safety, security, and authenticity of the Bitcoin market.

According to the report, 1,000 people own roughly 40% of the entire Bitcoin market. This means that just 1,000 people are controlling $112.74 billion of the Bitcoin space, and each person's average Bitcoin net worth is $112.74 million.

Must Read: 3 Bold Bitcoin Price Predictions for 2018 and Beyond

This has raised concerns that these so-called "Bitcoin whales" have more power to float or sink the market and potentially manipulate it through collusion in the future.

Will Bitcoin Futures Revive ETF Talk?

In early 2017, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) denied two attempts to create an exchange-traded fund (ETF) around Bitcoin.

Following the introduction of Bitcoin futures trading, CBOE's CEO, Edward Tilly, said that his organization's leap into cryptocurrency contracts will likely fuel reconsideration for ETFs.

"All of that information goes into building the next steps," Tilly said in an interview with CoinDesk.com.

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Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

Browse Garrett's articles | View Garrett's research services

Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.

Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.

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