$LTC Breaches $120 Amid ETF Buzz and DeFi Expansion: Can Bulls Push On?

Litecoin ($LTC)has climbed 3% to $122 as ETF speculation and DeFi adoption fueled bullish momentum. With $1B in daily trading volume, the payments-focused cryptocurrency is testing key resistance levels while institutional interest grows.

As one of the most widely used payment cryptocurrencies, Litecoin’s fundamentals continue to strengthen even as price action turns volatile.

From Mining Apps to Mainstream Payments: Why Litecoin is 2025’s Dark Horse

Litecoin is a crypto network designed for daily use. People and businesses frequently use the blockchain and its underlying asset for daily transactions and point-of-sale payments. The Litecoin network validates transactions faster, utilizing a block time of 2.5 minutes and low transaction fees, which gives it a triple combination of speed, security, and affordability.

This appeal has seen Litecoin grow into a quiet powerhouse in the crypto payment sector, where it now leads as the second most-used digital asset for transactions, just right behind Bitcoin.

The mining of $LTC has also become popular in the sector thanks to wider adoption.

Some mining apps like PAXMINING and RICH Miner now give users the ability to mine Litecoin directly from their devices, making it more accessible for retail users to participate in the security of the network and earn passive rewards.

Litecoin recently celebrated a major milestone, processing its 340 millionth transaction. Since the network hit 300 million on January 8, nearly 12% of all $LTC transactions have occurred in 2025.

Litecoin’s expansion into the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to grow, with a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $2.96 million. Meanwhile, over 164,000 $LTC tokens are now held in MWEB addresses, which offer users enhanced privacy.

Several factors are also fueling bullish sentiment around Litecoin, particularly among institutional investors.

For instance, California-based pharmaceutical company MEI Pharma made headlines recently when it allocated $100 million to Litecoin as part of its corporate treasury strategy, a major vote of confidence in the asset’s long-term value.

Additionally, speculation around a spot Litecoin ETF is gaining traction. Analysts are putting the odds of approval as high as 90% by 2025.

Although the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on Grayscale’s application until October, such procedural steps are common and not necessarily negative.

Looking ahead, analysts are eyeing a price range of $160 to $170 in the short term. Can $LTC break through? Let’s consider the TA below.

Litecoin Pauses After Strong Recovery, But Buyers Still Show Up Around $122

After several sessions of steady price appreciation, $LTC is experiencing a cooling-off phase near $123–$124.

The 1-hour chart reveals that the pair recently climbed from below $111 to touch a local high of $127.50.

However, the price has started pulling back, and a closer look at the volume footprint shows that sellers attempted to regain control around the $126–$127 area, where aggressive selling volume began to outweigh bids.

Despite this, buyers are still defending the $122.50–$123.00 region with decent absorption.

The volume footprint confirms strong interest during the breakout candle around 08:00 UTC, with over 800K contracts traded and a slightly negative delta, indicating that sellers were pressing but failed to halt the move.

A second burst occurred around 11:00, with 1.4M in total volume but a large negative delta of -72.6K, showing that sellers overwhelmed the tape in that period.

Yet, there was no dramatic follow-through afterward, implying that while the bears were active, they didn’t drive the price much lower.

On the price chart, $LTC remains above its 20, 50, and 100-period SMAs, confirming that the short- to mid-term structure is still intact.

The 20-SMA has begun moving upward, providing intraday support during the pullback. However, momentum has slowed. Another indicator of interest is the Relative Strength Index, otherwise known as the RSI.

The RSI has fallen from overbought levels and is now around 58. This gives it some breathing space, but without instilling any form of bearish divergence.

Nonetheless, we expect the broader market trend to remain as it is, unless the bears unexpectedly push $LTC below the 20-SMA line around $122.5. On the other hand, a forward and decisive nudge towards $127.50 would continue the bullish structure.