- Litecoin holds above $80 but struggles to break past $87 as futures open interest continues to slip.
- Long positions are building despite fading participation, increasing the risk of a potential long squeeze.
- A break below $80 could expose $70 support, while reclaiming $87–$90 may reopen upside toward $104.
Litecoin is trying to keep its balance above $80 as of Friday, but the chart is starting to look a little uneasy. After tagging the $87 resistance on Wednesday, price reversed and cooled off, suggesting buyers aren’t fully in control yet. Derivatives data paints a mixed picture — bullish positioning is building, but futures open interest is slipping, which quietly raises the risk of a long squeeze if momentum fades.
In short, confidence is there, but it’s thin.
Bullish Positions Build as Participation Slows
CoinGlass data shows Litecoin futures open interest sitting around $397 million, down from $409 million the day before. That drop tells us traders are pulling back on exposure overall, trimming both longs and shorts. It’s a sign that conviction isn’t particularly strong right now, especially on the retail side.
Institutional interest isn’t doing much to help either. According to Sosovalue, Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF has logged nine straight days of zero net flows. No inflows, no outflows — just silence. That kind of inactivity suggests larger players are staying on the sidelines, at least for now.
Still, there’s a bullish tilt under the surface. The OI-weighted funding rate at 0.0071% shows traders are willing to pay a small premium to stay long. The long-to-short ratio backs that up, with 51.27% of positions now long, up from 46.68% the previous day.
That imbalance can be a double-edged sword. When longs stack up while participation fades, the market becomes fragile. If price slips, those positions can unwind fast, triggering forced liquidations — the classic setup for a long squeeze.
Litecoin Struggles Below $87 as Downside Risks Grow
On the technical side, Litecoin continues to wrestle with the $87 ceiling inside a broader descending wedge pattern. Price hasn’t been able to push through convincingly, and that failure keeps downside risk alive. A deeper pullback could drag LTC below $80, opening a test of the lower support trendline near $70, which also lines up with the S1 Pivot Point.
Momentum indicators aren’t offering much reassurance yet. The RSI sits near 45, right in neutral territory, leaving room for further downside before anything looks oversold. Meanwhile, the MACD is losing steam. Green histogram bars are shrinking, and the indicator is drifting closer to a bearish crossover. If it flips, that would signal a shift in momentum back toward sellers.
That said, the bullish case isn’t dead. A clean break above $87 could send LTC toward the overhead trendline near $90. If price manages to reclaim $90 with volume, the $104 R1 Pivot Point becomes the next logical upside target.
For now, though, Litecoin feels stuck in between. Bulls are positioning, but demand isn’t strong enough to force a breakout yet. Whether LTC holds above $80 or slips lower will likely depend on how quickly confidence returns — or disappears.
