Litecoin Price Struggles Despite ETF Optimism as War Tensions Rattle Market

Litecoin LTC fell more than 4.3% over the past week, and is down more than 14% for the last 30-day period, with the latest sell-off coming as part of a wider risk asset sell-off.

That sell-off came after Israel attacked Iran in a bid to put an end to its nuclear program and harm its missile capabilities, and Iran later retaliated with a salvo of missiles.

The conflict has spooked global markets, reducing the total cryptocurrency market capitalization by more than $150 billion.

LTC was severely affected by the sell-off. As the dust settled, Litecoin attempted a fragile rebound, climbing back above $86. But the recovery has stalled under mounting technical resistance.

The $97.80 level, coinciding with the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement according to to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis data model, has proven difficult to breach. Momentum indicators like RSI at 43.46 and a flat MACD histogram show limited energy behind the move, suggesting a phase of consolidation.

Volume tells a similar story. Litecoin’s trading activity dropped 42% following the initial plunge, even as it briefly surged through the $85.90 resistance level during a high-volume spike late Friday. That breakout, however, was quickly met with profit-taking that brought it back down to $85.

Looming in the background is hope for a spot litecoin ETF. Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart estimate a 90% chance of approval.