Major South Korean exchange Coinone has added the fifth biggest digital currency Litecoin to its platform as of early November 2017. The exchange has reportedly processed $3.2 mln worth of Litecoin in the first 24 hours of trading Litecoin.
The adoption by Coinone of Litecoin is a much-needed lift for the Bitcoin sibling, which was left by the wayside due to the phenomenal performance of the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Before the Coinone inclusion, Litecoin’s trading activities have been virtually flat, with the virtual currency’s price hovering around the $55 mark in the past fortnight.
Cryptocurrency developments in South Korea and around the world
There have been contrasting developments in the digital currency markets around the world so far. In China, the government has ordered a ban on virtual currency trading across the country in October 2017. The prohibition has allowed South Korea to overtake China as the third biggest Bitcoin market in the world.
South Korea is also a major trading hub for Litecoin. The country’s biggest exchange Bithumb accounts for more than 25 percent of the global Litecoin market. Based on data from Crypto Coin Charts, Bithumb is trading more than $580 mln worth of Litecoin per day, surpassing major trading platform Bittrex. Bithumb is also largely credited for the excellent performance of Bitcoin Cash and the adoption of other new cryptocurrencies like QTUM.
The positive developments on Litecoin are expected to be just the beginning for the cryptocurrency. Since it is four times faster than Bitcoin in terms of processing time, it is expected that it will start to make gains in the near future. The integration of the Bitcoin core development team’s scaling solutions (SegWit) to Litecoin is also expected to affect the virtual currency's performance positively. It remains to be seen, however, if Litecoin can sustain its upward trajectory in the next few days.