According to U.Today, Litecoin (LTC) has achieved a significant milestone, with over five million long-term holders now part of its network. This figure represents 62.5% of all LTC addresses with a balance, indicating the cryptocurrency's widespread adoption and long-term viability.
The number of long-term holders has seen a notable increase in recent months. At the end of February, the number rose by 170,000 in just over a week, indicating a strong trend towards holding LTC for extended periods. Furthermore, the number of 'Cruisers,' those who have held LTC for 1-12 months, currently stands at 2.54 million addresses and continues to grow steadily.
On-chain data reveals that 67.67% of all LTC addresses are currently profitable. These addresses, totaling 5.43 million, hold a combined balance of 49.76 million LTC. On the other hand, 26.8% of LTC holders, or 2.15 million addresses, are at a loss with a combined balance of 20.6 million LTC. A smaller fraction, 5.53% of holders, are around the breakeven point.
Litecoin's rise can be traced back to its creation in 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer. Lee designed LTC as a 'lite' version of Bitcoin, aiming to address some of Bitcoin's perceived limitations, such as transaction speed and scalability. With its faster block generation time and a different hashing algorithm (Scrypt), Litecoin quickly gained popularity as a viable alternative to Bitcoin.