Litecoin (LTC) has significantly outperformed the broader cryptocurrency market over the past 24 hours, rising over 9% to reach $127.85 on February 27.

4-hour LTC/USD price chart. Source: TradingView

In contrast, the overall cryptocurrency market valuation fell by 3% amid destitute risk sentiment, fueled by Nvidia’s disappointing earnings and U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcements.

The key factors behind Litecoin’s growth are:

• Litecoin’s own “.ltc” domain announced
• The growing strength of LTC relative to Bitcoin (BTC).
• Strengthening technical charts.

Litecoin announces official ‘.ltc’ domain extension

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

What’s worth knowing:

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

Source: Official Litecoin X handle

• 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, reducing the risk of transaction errors.
• Since the domain extension announcement, the LTC price has increased by approximately 22%.

Daily LTC/USD price chart. Source: TradingView

The strength of LTC relative to Bitcoin is growing

Litecoin’s gains today are also due to its consistently sturdy performance relative to Bitcoin, which controls approximately 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market’s valuation.

Key Points:

• The LTC/BTC pair has increased by approximately 40% since the beginning of the year.
• In comparison, Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) fell over 24.45% and 20.50% respectively against Bitcoin.

LTC/BTC vs. performance chart ETH/BTC and SOL/BTC since the beginning of the year. Source: TradingView

• Litecoin’s dominance in the cryptocurrency market has improved thanks to the continued hype around ETFs.
• Ether and Bitcoin have seen similar growth trends ahead of the approval of their spot ETFs in 2024.

ETH/BTC daily chart ft. uptrend ahead of Ether ETF approval in July 2024 Source: TradingView

• In early February, Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, noted that there is a 90% probability of a Litecoin ETF being approved in 2025.
• On the Polymarket betting platform, the chances of the Litecoin spot ETF being approved by the end of 2025 were 75% as of February 27.

Chances of Litecoin ETF approval by 2025. Source: Polymarket

• February 19, US Securities and Exchange Commission found CoinShares searches for Litecoin ETFs.

Litecoin hashrate is increasing

Litecoin is bucking the market downtrend as network fundamentals strengthen, miners accumulate, and hashrate reaches modern highs.

Especially:

• Litecoin’s hashrate has reached an all-time high of 2.25 PH/s, signaling increased network security and miner confidence.

Litecoin hashrate chart. Source: CoinWarz

• Onchain data shows that miners are reducing selling pressure and increasing reserves, causing a potential supply squeeze.

Related: Litecoin Txs Up 243% in 5 Months Amid ETF Hype: Santiment

• The mining reserves chart further shows a rounded bottom pattern, indicating a transition from long-term selling to accumulation.

Litecoin mining reserves chart. Source: TradingView/change the contour

• Reduced excavator sales, increasing network strength and continued LTC demand position for further growth potential.

Next, LTC expects $360

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

Key takeaways:

• IH&S is a technical pattern that forms after a downtrend and consists of three key lows: the left shoulder, the lower head and the right shoulder, forming under neck resistance.
• The pattern subsides when the price clearly breaks above the neck line and increases by the maximum distance between the head valley and the neckline.

4-hour LTC/USD price chart. Source: TradingView

• As of February 27, Litecoin was forming the right arm of the pattern, seeing a break above the neck resistance around $130.
• The resulting target is around $160, suggesting potential upside through March if the breakout continues.
• Failure to hold above $130 could lead to a retest of lower support levels near the 50-4H EMA ($123.80) and a move closer to 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.