Litecoin Founder’s Vision
Charlie Lee, the Litecoin’s founder recommended people to stop over the rally in the cryptocurrency.
“I would be happy if litecoin stays at around $300 by the end of next year,” Lee told CNBC’s Squawk Box, as the cryptocurrency surged more than 150 percent in the past week.
During this year, the digital coin rallied almost 8,000%, making it the world’s fifth-largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of more than $15 billion. It was trading nearly at $260 on Coinbase exchange Friday.
“It’s still very surprising how much it has grown this year. I never like to speculate on prices because I’m always wrong. If I tell you it’s going to go up and it doesn’t, you’ll be upset,” Lee said.
As Lee pointed, the growth in cryptocurrency prices was also preventing their wider adoption as most people were using them as a speculative asset rather than using them for transactions.
“I think we’re still maybe five years away before people actually start using bitcoin and litecoin in real world use as a currency.”
The Policymakers, who also pay attention to cryptocurrencies, have doubts over their appeal as stores of value or mediums of exchange. Others think the cryptocurrencies are very risky for investing.
Lee welcomed recent talk of more regulation for cryptocurrencies, though other specialists have expressed alarm at the prospect of government intervention.
“I think increased regulation will help to reduce the volatility of the coin. A lot of the recent gains have had a lot to do with countries like (South) Korea and Japan really getting into the cryptocurrency space,” Lee said.
Lee said he would not like to see South Korea banning cryptocurrencies. However, he welcomed more regulation around Initial Coin Offerings or ICOs.
The latest way to raise money using cryptocurrency tokens in exchange is appeared to be an ICO. Investors don’t get a stake in the company, but the tokens they receive can be traded or used on a service provided by the platform.
Lee also talked about the latest introduction of bitcoin futures on the CBOE and CME. He said he expected to see litecoin futures on a global exchange in the future.
“I believe that as we grow, more and more people will look into litecoin and see that as a good investment asset also. I hope to see litecoin futures one day.”
