Litecoin prices surged nearly 70% today, ending months of stagnant market activity.
Prices for the alternative cryptocurrency rose to as much as $7.04 on CoinMarketCap, compared to $4.18 at the start of trading – a rise of about 68%. According to the data, most of the trading has taken place on Poloniex, OKCoin and Huobi.
At press time, the price is averaging around $6.30 across exchanges.
Prior to today's rally, the digital currency had seen little price volatility since roughly the start of February. In that time, litecoin prices have fluctuated within a range close to $4, market data shows. Its price reached as much as $48 in late 2013.
As for what's driving the rally, market observers aren't so sure.
One theory floated related to efforts to integrate Segregated Witness – originally proposed as an upgrade to bitcoin's code – with litecoin, though figures show that adoption has been slow amongst the altcoin's miners.
At least one trader has expressed surprise in light of the rally. Charles Hayter, co-founder and CEO of CryptoCompare, told CoinDesk that he wasn't clear on what was causing prices to rise.
Tim Enneking, chairman of Crypto Asset Management, offered a similar take, stating:
"This move caught us totally by surprise."
Another possible culprit: traders are simply chasing possible gains in the altcoin markets.
"Traders have itchy trigger fingers after the recent market volatility and are looking to jump on moves and therefore exacerbate them," Hayter said.
Images via CoinMarketCap; Shutterstock