Litecoin has lost over half its value since the creator sold all of his stake

Litecoin has plunged to the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after losing half of its market value in less than a month.

The cryptocurrency, created by former Coinbase engineer Charlie Lee in 2011 as a quicker alternative to the flagship bitcoin, was worth an all-time high of $365 as recently as December, according to Markets Insider data.

That price had plunged more than 59% to $147 by Wednesday morning.

During its astronomical rise, Lee was often accused of manipulating the price of Litecoin through his tweets and public appearances. Lee said in December — when Litecoin was double today’s price — that he had  “sold and donated” all of his holdings.

“Whenever I tweet about Litecoin price or even just good or bad news, I get accused of doing it for personal benefit,” Lee said on Reddit. “Some people even think I short LTC! So in a sense, it is [sic] conflict of interest for me to hold LTC and tweet about it because I have so much influence.”

Lee did not disclose how much of the cryptocurrency he sold or donated, but maintained it did not affect the price of the asset. Still, prices fell shortly after his announcement and continued to tumble.

To be sure, litecoin is still trading up 4,000% from its prices a year ago, and currently has a market cap of $10.1 billion. According to a new study from SEMRush, Litecoin (and Ripple)’s gains have come at the expense of Ethereum, which is also down 24% in the last 24 hours. Most cryptocurrencies took a hit Tuesday after reports China and South Korea are mulling tighter regulatory controls.

Source: Businessinsider.com | Original Link

[Ed.note: If you’re new to the bitcoin craze and you’re thinking about investing, the first thing you have to do is figure out what it is. If you can’t explain what bitcoin is to your mom or your neighbor and why you’re investing in it and why you think it’s a good investment, then it’s too soon for you to put your money in.

But with an investment like bitcoin, no one really knows where it’s going to go. It could go to $150,000. But it could also go to zero.

The Palm Beach Confidential review has more in-depth information about investing into cryptocurrencies.

To find out more about your options check out the review of Teeka Tiwari Palm Beach Confidential Newsletter.]

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