Camomile Shumba
- Bitcoin slipped below $US67,000 ($AU90,629) after hitting record highs, while litecoin rose by almost 30% over the week.
- The boss of AMC said in an earnings call on Monday the company was set to take payment in litecoin and bitcoin cash by year-end.
- Altcoins have been on a tear this year, as investors seek cheaper alternatives to bitcoin and ethereum.
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Bitcoin slipped for a second day on Wednesday, as investors booked profits after this week’s record highs, while smaller rival litecoin gained for a fourth day in a row, boosted by movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment’s signal that it will likely accept payment in the token by year-end.
The number one cryptocurrency slipped below $US67,000 ($AU90,629) after having hit an all-time peak of almost $US69,000 ($AU93,334) the previous day, but was still up 6% week-on-week, according to Coinbase data.
“Such a pullback indicates an attempt to take profit after the recent growth and look-around. The fact is that sales had prevailed on the market the day before, and this effectively shifted the balance of power into the hands of the sellers,” Anton Gulin, who is regional director of AAX Exchange, said.
Litecoin, meanwhile, was up by over 8% in 24 hours to trade around $US275 ($AU372) by 6:15 a.m. ET, bringing gains over the last seven days to 31% on Coinbase.
AMC CEO Adam Aron announced in the company’s earnings call on Monday that the cinema chain was on track to accept bitcoin cash and litecoin payments, in addition to bitcoin, ether and dogecoin, before the end of the year. Bitcoin cash was up 5.2% at around $US701.40 ($AU949), set for a week-on-week gain of 16%.
Litecoin is one of the top performing cryptocurrencies this year, with a rise of 470%, behind ether, which is up 570%, but ahead of bitcoin, which is up 130%. Litecoin’s lower energy intensity, cheaper transaction fees and higher network speed have made it popular among retail investors and businesses. Altcoins generally have been on a tear this year, as investors have sought out cheaper alternatives to bitcoin.
Litecoin also likely got a boost from Ripple Labs, whose network hosts the XRP token. The company in a press release on Tuesday that it would be launching a liquidity hub that would allow financial firms to give their clients access to cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, ether and litecoin, as well as bitcoin cash, ethereum classic and XRP itself.
“Litecoin would need to avoid the $US256 ($AU346) pivot to bring the first major resistance level at $US282 ($AU381) into play,” FXEmpire technical analyst Bob Mason said.
“Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for litecoin to break out from Tuesday’s high,” he added.
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