Litecoin's (LTC/USD) rocket hasn't run out of fuel just yet, gaining as much as 23% to $6.15 on BTC-e, its highest price since the August sell-off.
During such vicious cycles of feverish buying, it no longer makes a difference if the coin gains 600% or 1,000%. The goal is just to buy, since someone else will surely buy after you.
Litecoin had held its ground near $5.00 after falling 10% off yesterday's peak, after which it resumed its trek upward. It has now gained as much as 340% since May 1, and close to 500% since nearly falling below $1.00 in late January.
Bitcoin 's gains, by comparison, are once again negligible, sending the LTC/BTC rate to as high as 0.022- its highest in nearly 14 months. It has needed only 2 months to recover what it had lost over the course of one year.
An aggregate of roughly $18 million worth of litecoin has been traded during the past 24h.
Once again, litecoin is acting solo; most other major Cryptocurrencies are relatively unchanged today, a departure from the wild days where they rallied in tandem.
The fundamental cause for the rally, if one exists, remains unknown. In theory, its initial stage may have been sparked by unease over Bitcoin's future sustainability, aroused by renewed debate over the block size limit and other technical issues. But there is no guarantee that litecoin's design is any better.
After the initial push, the subsequent stages likely stemmed from a combination of short covering and a self-feeding speculative frenzy.
