Bitcoin Spin-Off Litecoin, 'Ethereum Killer' Avalanche Weather Crypto Meltdown, Here's Why LTC, AVAX Are Spiking

Litecoin and Avalanche both traded in the green Wednesday, defying the blood-soaked charts of other established coins.

What happened: LTC rose 2.85% in the last 24 hours, while its trading volume zoomed 34% to $1.94 billion.

The coin, created from the hard fork of Bitcoin BTC/USD, surged to an intraday high of $128.14 earlier in the day before retracing to $122.

While there was no specific trigger for the rally, traders may be pricing in a high probability of a Litecoin spot exchange-traded fund approval this year. In the last few weeks, the SEC has acknowledged spot ETF filings by Grayscale, Canary Capital, and CoinShares

Cryptocurrency	Gains +/-	Price (Recorded at 11:55 p.m. ET)
Litecoin LTC/USD	+2.85%	$122.61
Avalanche AVAX/USD	+1.05	$22.30

Additionally, AVAX lifted 1.05% on the launch of its Visa credit card, which allows users to buy products directly with their cryptocurrency without having to convert it to fiat.

Avalanche, like Ethereum ETH/USD, is a smart contract-based network, enabling the development of decentralized applications on top of it.

The Avalanche Card is designed for a world where crypto isn't just held—it's used. A new way to connect, without relying on mainstream tools.

Use your AVAX anywhere Visa is accepted, available digitally & physically for ultimate convenience. pic.twitter.com/TD53puRSuE
— Avalanche🔺 (@avax) February 26, 2025

The gains contrasted with the broader market meltdown, with the total capitalization shrinking by 4.35% in the last 24 hours.

The slump was exacerbated by Bitcoin's drop below $83,000, its lowest in 15 weeks. Large-cap cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Solana SOL/USD fell 6.74% and 3.15%, respectively.

Photo by Igor Faun on Shutterstock

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