According to data compiled by blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock, about 13% of Litecoin’s (LTC) total supply has remained untouched for five years.
Analysts at the company speculated that the dormancy might be attributed to either “unwavering confidence” in the Litecoin project or the loss of assets. Regardless of the reason for the inactivity, the finding puts LTC’s average holding time at 2.1 years.
Litecoin, often called the silver to Bitcoin’s digital gold, has recently seen increased on-chain activity as investors prepare for the network’s upcoming third halving. The HODLing attitude from investors could be connected to the expectation of positive price action upon completion of the event.
The halving, less than five weeks away, will reduce the block rewards paid to miners by half. While the event is expected to occur on August 2, 2023, at block 2,520,000, the date remains subject to the network’s hash rate fluctuations.
Miners’ reward will drop to 6.25 LTC from 12.5 LTC, reducing the coin production rate on the network. This mechanism aims to create scarcity to boost LTC’s value, counteracting inflation and encouraging a stable growth trajectory for the crypto asset.
With this in mind, investors have begun to flock to the network, accumulating LTC or refusing to let go of their holdings.
In May, CryptoPotato reported that the total LTC addresses with balances increased to 8.5 million from the end of April. New and active addresses on the network soared close to their all-time highs (ATHs) attained in February. Notably, Litecoin’s new address count briefly exceeded that of Bitcoin.
Besides the increased on-chain activity, LTC’s market value has recorded some significant gains recently. Within the past week, the asset’s price surged to a 14-month high, hitting the $110 mark. Currently trading at $102.60, LTC has become the tenth largest cryptocurrency by market cap, according to data on CoinMarketCap.
Similarly, Litecoin’s hash rate has soared to a new ATH of 797.72 tera hash/second (Th/s). The network’s mining difficulty has also hovered around a recently established ATH set at 26.38 million.