Bitfinex Withdrawal Difficulties May Have Contributed to Litecoin Spike
Some cryptocurrency traders are attributing the recent Litecoin spike to the withdrawal issues that have plagued Bitfinex in recent days. The theory proposes that customers of the exchange posting about Litecoin withdrawals processing successfully may have inspired a rush of Bitfinex’s customers to convert their holdings into LTC – as suggested by posts on Reddit.
Also Read: Bitfinex Experiences Withdrawal Difficulties
On the 8th of December, Litecoin Made an Aggressive Break Above the $100 USD Area
The breakout saw Litecoin post gains of over 60% in just two days – shooting up from an opening price of approximately $93.60 USD to set a new all-time high of nearly $160 USD, before closing at approximately $148.75 USD. The LTC markets have since retraced to test the $140 USD area, with many traders speculating on whether or not Litecoin’s bullish momentum can be sustainable.
Some traders believe that the LTC’s exuberant price action can be attributed to Bitfinex’s current difficulties processing withdrawals. Over the course of the last week, Bitfinex’s subreddit has increasingly become awash with posts from concerned customers complaining that withdrawal requests in a number of cryptocurrencies have not been completed after several days of waiting. Yesterday, a number of Redditors attested to having had Litecoin withdrawal requests processed quickly, potentially leading to a run of Bitfinex customers converting their holdings into Litecoin out of the hope that doing so would allow them to withdraw their funds.
A Thread Titled “If You Want Withdraw Convert All in Litecoin” Has Generated Considerable Attention on Reddit
The post states “I was two days trying to withdraw btc and iota and eth without lucky, then I read some user write convert all in ltc. So I did it and withdraw ~30ltc in 10 minutes!!.” The comments section of the thread indicates that many of Bitfinex’s clients reading the post quickly moved to convert their holdings into Litecoin, with one Redditor stating “Agree… Did this too.. All moved […] within an hour.” Another trader states “yes, this worked for me. Thanks for the great advice!! Withdraw in less than 5min.”
Bitfinex has claimed that the delays in withdrawal are a consequence of a sustained malicious attack that has involved the exchange getting spammed by a large volume of extremely small withdrawals and deposits. The exchange has since issued a post suggesting that it will not be processing cryptocurrency withdrawals less than $250 USD until a “request mechanism [is] put in place [in] 1-2 weeks.”
Do you think that Bitfinex’s withdrawal difficulties may have contributed to the recent Litecoin boom? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bitfinex
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