Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.
Estimated reading time: 2 min
Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.
What are the key risks?
1. You could lose all the money you invest
The performance of most cryptoassets can be highly volatile, with their value dropping as quickly as it can rise. You should be prepared to lose all the money you invest in cryptoassets.
The cryptoasset market is largely unregulated. There is a risk of losing money or any cryptoassets you purchase due to risks such as cyber-attacks, financial crime and firm failure.
2. You should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) doesn't protect this type of investment because it's not a 'specified investment' under the UK regulatory regime – in other words, this type of investment isn't recognised as the sort of investment that the FSCS can protect. Learn more by using the FSCS investment protection checker.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will not be able to consider complaints related to this firm or Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
3. You may not be able to sell your investment when you want to
There is no guarantee that investments in cryptoassets can be easily sold at any given time. The ability to sell a cryptoasset depends on various factors, including the supply and demand in the market at that time.
Operational failings such as technology outages, cyber-attacks and comingling of funds could cause unwanted delay and you may be unable to sell your cryptoassets at the time you want.
4. Cryptoasset investments can be complex
Investments in cryptoassets can be complex, making it difficult to understand the risks associated with the investment.
You should do your own research before investing. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
5. Don't put all your eggs in one basket
Putting all your money into a single type of investment is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.
If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA's website here.
For further information about cryptoassets, visit the FCA's website here.
Finder asked a panel of 31 fintech specialists in October 2023 about their price predictions for Litecoin (LTC) over the next 7 years.
Find out how much our panellists think LTC will be worth by the end of 2023, 2025 and 2030.
All prices mentioned in this report are in US dollars.
Litecoin price predictions for 2023, 2025 and 2030
On average, our panellists think LTC’s price will hit US$70 before 2023 is out.
They also expect the price of LTC to rise to US$184 by 2025 and US$430 by 2030.
All of these predictions are more bearish than those from our April 2023 survey, in which our panellists felt LTC would hit US$126 by 2023, US$269 by 2025 and US$853 by 2030.
"Litecoin could maintain its role as a digital counterpart to Bitcoin, often referred to as 'digital silver,' which we believe may retain value over time," Ben Ritchie, managing director of Digital Capital Management Pty Ltd, says.
Ryan Grace, head of tastycrypto, also believes there's still some hope for LTC.
"I believe network effects and increased adoption over time will ultimately contribute to an increase in market cap over the coming years," Grace says.
But not all of our panellists believe LTC's price will rise much higher in the long run.
Martin Froehler, CEO or Morpher, doesn’t see LTC's price rising beyond $100 by the end of 2030.
"Litecoin does not have a unique value proposition or use case," Froehler says.
Is now the time to buy, sell or hold Litecoin (LTC)?
Almost two-fifths (38%) of our panellists think it's time to sell LTC, while the same percentage of our panellists believe it's time to hold the asset.
Only a quarter of our panellists think it's time to buy LTC.
Pav Hundal, lead market analyst at Swyftx thinks it's time to sell LTC.
"While optimism is excellent, there must be more fundamental wins for the project to see significant price appreciation," Hundal says. "This could be anything from a new major partnership with a well known brand, or a complete pivot and rebrand towards a gap in the market."
Ben Ritchie sees LTC as a hold.
"While short-term potential gains appear modest, the price of Litecoin might align with Bitcoin's trajectory as more users adopt it, benefiting from network effects and exhibiting similarities to Bitcoin's price movement," Ritchie says.
And Jeremy Britton, CFO at Boston Trading.co, believes it's time to buy LTC, as Litecoin still serves a specific purpose.
"Every innovation on BTC must first be tested on LTC," Britton says. "Litecoin will continue to have new features before Bitcoin adopts them, and developers will always favor LTC."
As the Lightning Network and other Layer 2 networks for Bitcoin are improved upon and enter the market, will Litecoin still be necessary?
Almost half (42%) of our panellists are unsure if Litecoin will still be necessary as more advancements are made and come to market on Bitcoin Layer 2 networks.
Just over a third (35%) of our panellists feel that Litecoin won't be necessary in the wake of more Bitcoin Layer 2 advancements.
And just under a quarter (23%) of our panellists believe there will still be a use case for Litecoin even as Bitcoin Layer 2s advance.
"The Bitcoin Lightning Network will hinder any growth for Litecoin," Joseph Raczynski, futurist at Joe Technologist, Consulting and Media, says. "Litecoin will likely always be around, but as an ant's shadow compared to the usage and relevance of Bitcoin."
Paul Levy, senior lecturer at the University of Brighton, believes Litecoin will remain relevant for the foreseeable future because "Layer 2 [Bitcoin] networks have yet to prove themselves over time," he says.
Ruadhan O, creator at Seasonal Tokens, believes Litecoin will stay relevant but not because of whether or not Bitcoin Layer 2 advancements succeed.
"Faster Bitcoin payments [with Bitcoin] won't have any effect on Litecoin's price," O says. "Litecoin will still have halvings that take place about a year before Bitcoin's. It will be an asset whose scarcity starts to affect the market before Bitcoin's does, providing an investment option during the periods when Bitcoin's price isn't moving."
Will the growing optimism among long-term LTC investors trigger a price rebound?
Almost half (44%) of our panellists don't believe that the optimism of long-term LTC investors will be enough to trigger a price rebound.
Just over two-fifths (41%) are unsure if this optimism is enough, while only 15% believe it is.
"Current long-term investors' optimism is not enough to boost the price," Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at YouHodler, says. "LTC needs new investors' capital inflow to trigger a price rebound."
John Hawkins, senior lecturer at University of Canberra, also doesn't think this optimism will be enough to boost LTC's price.
"There are many better payment instruments," Hawkins says.
Mitesh Shah, founder and CEO at Omnia Markets, Inc. feels differently, though.
"The growing optimism among long-term LTC investors, combined with the continued whale buying activity, could spark a price rebound for Litecoin," Shah says.
Meet our panel
Finder surveyed 31 fintech specialists in October 2023. Panellists are able to answer as many or as few questions as they like, meaning the number of responses received varies by question. 21 panellists gave their price prediction for LTC by year-end 2023, 2025, and 2030. Panellists may own some cryptocurrencies, including LTC. All prices are listed in USD per LTC.Changes to methodology: In 2021, this research was conducted using the simple mean of all answers supplied to Finder. From 2022, we switched to using the truncated mean, with the top and bottom 10% of responses removed in order to attain a more consistent result. Any 2021 results quoted in this analysis have also been re-calculated using the truncated mean.
*Cryptocurrencies aren't regulated in the UK and there's no protection from the Financial Ombudsman or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Your capital is at risk. Capital gains tax on profits may apply.
Cryptocurrencies are speculative and investing in them involves significant risks - they're highly volatile, vulnerable to hacking and sensitive to secondary activity. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This content shouldn't be interpreted as a recommendation to invest. Before you invest, you should get advice and decide whether the potential return outweighs the risks. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to buy Arbitrum, lists some exchanges where you can get it and provides daily price data on (ARB).
Learn how to buy Litecoin in the UK with our simple step-by-step guide and tips on what to know before you get started.
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