#LET ME ROTATE LTC

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Could Bitcoin's SegWit Adoption Be a Blessing for LTC?

http://cryptobully.com/2018/02/could-bitcoins-segwit-adoption-be-a-blessing-for-ltc/

Could Bitcoin's SegWit Adoption Be a Blessing for LTC?

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Daily Litecoin News Update

Cryptocurrency prices are correcting on Wednesday morning after a neat rally earlier this week. The to-and-fro price movement is a given in this space, so let’s not sweat it. The Litecoin price is down about 13.7% in the last 24 hours but is holding steady over the $210.00 mark.

More than price, there’s another pressing concern right now that needs addressing. That is, Bitcoin is moving toward “SegWit” adoption. Read it like this: Bitcoin is going to copy Litecoin’s moat, and since it’s the mightier of the two, the fear is that smart money will rotate back to Bitcoin.

In case you haven’t heard, the next major update to Bitcoin’s code, Bitcoin Core version 0.16.0, will integrate SegWit. The updated code went up for peer review on GitHub six days ago, which means it’s going to be implemented sometime soon.

In the meantime, major crypto exchanges Coinbase and Bitfinex have likewise announced that they’ll be adopting SegWit on their platforms to speed up Bitcoin transactions.

SegWit, which is shorthand for Segregated Witness, is an upgrade that will fine tune Bitcoin’s blockchain technology to make it “cheaper” and “faster.” These two keywords are Litecoin’s distinguishing factors. Put alternatively, Bitcoin is coming at Litecoin and skeptics fear that Bitcoin will succeed in beating Litecoin at its own game.

Except it won’t.

The world is big enough for the two to coexist. That’s the point Litecoin founder Charlie Lee has been making from the beginning. (Source: “My Vision For SegWit And Lightning Networks On Litecoin And Bitcoin,” Medium, January 6, 2017.)

Bitcoin’s SegWit adoption will, in fact, be a double-edged sword. Let me explain how.

The biggest criticism leveled at Bitcoin is that it is losing its utility as a monetary unit—the principle reason why it was created in the first place. Bitcoin has become more of a speculative tool for storing value. Its purpose as an alternative to fiat currency is being defeated as it becomes exceedingly expensive and increasingly slow to use. This is where Litecoin comes in to fill the void left by Bitcoin.

So, technically, if Bitcoin overcomes its shortcomings with SegWit, it’ll put Litecoin on the back foot. But there’s a flip side of the coin we’re missing here.

Chart courtesy of TradingView.com

Litecoin, by default, is a faster and cheaper technology than Bitcoin. Add SegWit as a constant on both sides and it balances out the equation. What I mean is that Litecoin will still be cheaper and faster than Bitcoin, once both are running Lightning Networks on SegWit.

Plus, if Bitcoin regains its utility as a digital currency, we would likely see more user adoption across the board.

Mind you, more hands hold Bitcoin than Litecoin. So, the more hands Bitcoin changes as a medium of exchange, the more visibility it gains as an alternative to fiat currency, which in turn is good for digital currencies as a whole. New crypto adopters will sooner or later identify Litecoin to be a better choice than Bitcoin.

In a nutshell, this could be a blessing in disguise for Litecoin.

Analyst Take

We’re staying true to our original Litecoin price forecast because we view Bitcoin’s SegWit adoption as doing more good to Litecoin than harm. Our LTC price target for 2018 is steady at $400.00.

Litecoin