Litecoin, currently the world's fifth largest major cryptocurrency by value, has leaped higher today following a steady rise over the last few days, pushing bitcoin, ethereum, and the wider cryptocurrency market higher. Ethereum rose almost 8% over the last 24 hours, buoyed by the wider market. Use of bitcoin, litecoin and other cryptocurrencies in Venezula has risen over recent months as people trade on platforms such as LocalBitcoins to dodge international sanctions and the collapsing bolívar. As 2018 dragged on and that investment failed to appear many investors and traders got cold feet, bailing out of their bitcoin and cryptocurrency positions. Many bitcoin investors and traders are however looking toward things like the highly-anticipated Bakkt bitcoin platform and a U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to boost the price, though those expectations have been somewhat dampened lately as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission frets over potential price manipulation.

Source: Forbes March 06, 2019 12:11 UTC