Can Litecoin’s [LTC] long-awaited MWEB update shine a light to end this darkness

On 19 May, Litecoin finally launched its new MimbleWimble (MWEB) upgrade after years of development. The upgrade, which was completed at the Litecoin block height of two million, promised that privacy will be guaranteed as users complete transactions on the Litecoin Network.

While it is trite that native tokens barely exhibit any positive reaction to news of their networks’ upgrade, the bloodbath that plagued the cryptocurrency markets in the last few weeks have made it even more difficult for positive movement in the LTC token even in the face of the much-anticipated upgrade.

Prior to the upgrade, the price of the Network’s native token, LTC, was ailing. However, the coin appears to be making a recovery two days after the implementation of the long-awaited MWEB upgrade. 

Let there be ‘lite’

Following several weeks of recording losses, the MWEB upgrade to Litecoin’s Network came with good tidings for the HODLers of the LTC token. After a decline of 83.23% from its ATH of $412.96, the token appears to be positioned for a slow recovery with the MWEB upgrade.

Standing at $69.29 at the time of writing, the token, since the MWEB upgrade rallied up by 2% from its initial position of $67 on 19 May. 

Source: CoinMarketCap

Further to this, a look at movements of the price charts suggested a bullish divergence. At the time of writing, the MACD line intersected the trend line in an upward direction. This generally is indicative of increased selling pressure; a precursor to a bullish run. It appears that following the upgrade, investors took to accumulating the coin to drive up its price.

Source: TradingView

A consideration of the market capitalization for the token revealed similar growth. At $4.77 billion on 19 May, which was the day of launch, the market cap stood at $4.89 billion at press time.

Source: CoinMarketCap

The darkness may still prevail… 

Despite the growth recorded on a price front, a look at data from the chain revealed that investors should not be joyous just yet.

At 318.21k on 19 May, the number of unique addresses involved in LTC transactions daily took on a downtrend. Standing at 109k at the time of press, the daily active addresses for the LTC token declined by over 65% in just two days.

Source: Santiment

Following a similar progression of decline was the transaction volume of the token. At 801.02 million on 19 May, the transaction volume plummeted by 21% in just two days leaving he transaction volume at 624.87 million at the time of writing. 

Source: Santiment

Despite the upgrade, the index for the developmental activity on the network took on a downtrend in the last two days. At the time of press, this stood at 2.17 against the 2.24 marked on the day of launch, 19 May. 

Source: Santiment

Furthermore, a look at whale activity within the period under review showed a decline in transactions count. For transactions over $1 million, the LTC token recorded a 91% decline in transactions count. With 62 whale transaction count recorded on 19 May and a mere five recorded at press time, the whales no longer appeared to be accumulating the token. Similarly, for transactions over $100k, an 85% decline in transaction count was spotted within the period under review. 

Source: Santiment