What Do You Need to Know?

Litecoin’s third halving is officially 100 days away, with the event expected to occur on August 2, 2023, at block 2,520,000. However, the date may change due to the network’s hash rate fluctuations.

Halving is a mechanism in which the rewards that crypto miners receive for validating transactions on a blockchain are cut in half. This is done to slow down the rate at which new units of a digital asset are created, thereby creating scarcity and potentially boosting the asset’s value, according to the principles of supply and demand.

By reducing the number of coins in circulation, halving is intended to counteract inflation and encourage a sustainable and stable growth trajectory for the cryptocurrency.

The Effect of Halving on the Litecoin Network

Litecoin’s halving occurs every four years after 840,000 blocks, with miners receiving 50% fewer coins than before. The blockchain has undergone two halving events since its launch in 2011, and miners are currently receiving 12.5 LTC as rewards.

Litecoin’s block mining rewards will be cut to 6.25 LTC with the upcoming halving event. At Litecoin’s genesis, miners received 50 LTC, but after the first halving on August 25, 2015, at block height 840,000, the reward was slashed to 25 LTC. On August 5, 2019, the second halving occurred at block height 1,680,000, and the reward was further reduced by half.

Currently, about 576 blocks are mined on the Litecoin network each day, creating 7,200 LTC. However, after the third halving, the daily LTC production will be reduced to 3,600. As a result, the supply rate of LTC will decrease, potentially triggering a surge in demand from investors. This could positively impact the overall value of the assets.

How Will Litecoin’s Third Halving Affect LTC?

There has been much speculation about the impact of the halving event on Litecoin’s price. While some members of the crypto community believe the asset’s value will increase following the event, others think the halving will have no impact as it has been already priced in.

The optimistic outlook regarding Litecoin’s halving event is rooted in the historical price trends of Bitcoin following its own halving, which also takes place every four years. Like Litecoin, Bitcoin’s halving helps reduce the inflation rate and cuts miners’ block rewards by 50%.

Given Bitcoin’s dominance, its halvings have historically caused significant disruptions in the market. Following Bitcoin’s halving in 2016 and 2020, the market experienced rallies that resulted in many crypto assets reaching new all-time highs in the years that followed.

However, on-chain data shows that Litecoin’s previous halving events have failed to produce the same effects. LTC prices in 2015 and 2019 were, for the most part, unresponsive to the network’s halving. Before the most recent halving, Litecoin’s value declined and continued after the event. Therefore, it is uncertain which direction Litecoin’s price will move after the halving.