Litecoin Day Trading 2024 – Tutorial and Brokers

Litecoin is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies used by day traders, as there is plenty of trade volume and price swings to profit from. Litecoin uses open source software to create a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and has surged in trading popularity in recent years, gaining the nickname of Bitcoin’s little brother. This page will examine all elements of day trading Litecoin, including its history, current price predictions, important news, charts, mining, and wallets.

Top Litecoin Trading Brokers

#1 - FOREX.com

Why We Chose FOREX.com

Founded in 1999, FOREX.com is now part of StoneX, a financial services organization serving over one million customers worldwide. Regulated in the US, UK, EU, Australia and beyond, the broker offers thousands of markets, not just forex, and provides excellent pricing on cutting-edge platforms.

"FOREX.com remains a best-in-class brokerage for active forex traders of all experience levels, with over 80 currency pairs, tight spreads from 0.0 pips and low commissions. The powerful charting platforms collectively offer over 100 technical indicators, as well as extensive research tools."

- DayTrading Review Team
  • Instruments: Forex, Spot Metals
  • Regulator: NFA, CFTC
  • Platforms: MT4, MT5, TradingView, eSignal, AutoChartist, TradingCentral
  • Minimum Deposit: $100
  • Minimum Trade: 0.01 Lots
  • Leverage: 1:50

Pros

  • FOREX.com offers industry-leading forex pricing starting from 0.0 pips, alongside competitive cashback rebates of up to 15% for serious day traders.
  • Alongside a choice of leading platforms, FOREX.com offers a superb suite of supplementary tools including Trading Central research, SMART Signals pattern scanner, trading signals, and strategy builders.
  • There’s a wealth of educational resources including tutorials, webinars, and a stacked YouTube channel to help you get educated in the financial markets.

Cons

  • Demo accounts are frustratingly time-limited to 90 days, which doesn’t give you enough time to test day trading strategies effectively.
  • There’s no negative balance protection for US clients, so you may find yourself owing more money than your initial deposit into your account.
  • Funding options are limited compared to leading alternatives like IC Markets and don’t include many popular e-wallets, notably UnionPay and POLi.

#2 - Interactive Brokers

Why We Chose Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a premier brokerage for experienced traders, providing access to 150 markets in 33 countries, along with a suite of comprehensive investment services. With over 40 years of experience, this Nasdaq-listed firm adheres to stringent regulations by the SEC, FCA, CIRO, and SFC, amongst others, and is one of the most trusted brokers for trading around the globe.

"Interactive Brokers is one of the best brokers for advanced day traders, providing powerful charting platforms, real-time data, and customizable layouts, notably through the new IBKR Desktop application. Its superb pricing and advanced order options also make it highly attractive for day traders, while its diverse range of equities is still among the best in the industry."

- DayTrading Review Team
  • Instruments: Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, CFDs, Cryptocurrencies
  • Regulator: FCA, SEC, FINRA, CBI, CIRO, SFC, MAS, MNB
  • Platforms: Trader Workstation (TWS), IBKR Desktop, GlobalTrader, Mobile, Client Portal, AlgoTrader, OmniTrader, eSignal, TradingCentral
  • Minimum Deposit: $0
  • Minimum Trade: $100
  • Leverage: 1:50

Pros

  • The new IBKR Desktop platform takes the best of TWS while adding bespoke tools like Option Lattice and Screeners with MultiSort to create a genuinely impressive trading experience for day traders at every level.
  • The TWS platform has clearly been built for intermediate and advanced traders and comes with over 100 order types and a reliable real-time market data feed that rarely goes offline.
  • While primarily geared towards experienced traders, IBKR has made moves to broaden its appeal in recent years, reducing its minimum deposit from $10,000 to $0.

Cons

  • TWS’s learning curve is steep, and beginners may find it challenging to navigate the platform and understand all the features. Plus500's web platform is much better suited to new traders.
  • IBKR provides a wide range of research tools, but their distribution across trading platforms and the web-based 'Account Management' page lacks consistency, leading to a confusing user experience.
  • You can only have one active session per account, so you can’t have your desktop program and mobile app running simultaneously, making for a sometimes frustrating trading experience.

#3 - NinjaTrader

Why We Chose NinjaTrader

NinjaTrader is a US-headquartered and regulated brokerage that specializes in futures trading. There are three pricing plans to suit different needs and budgets, as well as ultra-low margins on popular contracts. The brand's award-winning charting software and trading platform also offers a high-degree of customization and superb technical analysis features.

"NinjaTrader continues to meet the demands of active futures traders looking for low fees and premium analysis tools. The platform hosts top-rate charting features including hundreds of indicators and 10+ chart types."

- DayTrading Review Team
  • Instruments: Forex, Stocks, Options, Commodities, Futures, Crypto
  • Regulator: NFA, CFTC
  • Platforms: NinjaTrader Desktop, Web & Mobile, eSignal
  • Minimum Deposit: $0
  • Minimum Trade: 0.01 Lots
  • Leverage: 1:50

Pros

  • Traders can get free platform access and trade simulation capabilities in the unlimited demo
  • You can get thousands of add-ons and applications from developers in 150+ countries
  • NinjaTrader continues to deliver comprehensive charting software for active day traders with bespoke technical indicators and widgets

Cons

  • There is a withdrawal fee on some funding methods
  • Non forex and futures trading requires signing up with partner brokers
  • The premium platform tools come with an extra charge

#4 - eToro USA

Why We Chose eToro USA

eToro is a social investing platform that offers short-term and long-term trading on stocks, ETFs, options and crypto. The broker is well-known for its user-friendly community-centred platform and competitive fees. With FINRA and SIPC oversight and millions of users across the world, eToro is still one of the most respected brands in the industry. eToro securities trading is offered by eToro USA Securities, Inc.

"eToro remains a top pick for traders looking for leading social investing and copy trading services. With a low deposit, zero commissions and an intuitive platform, the broker will meet the needs of newer day traders."

- DayTrading Review Team
  • Instruments: Stocks, Options, ETFs, Crypto
  • Regulator: SEC, FINRA
  • Platforms: eToro Trading Platform & CopyTrader
  • Minimum Deposit: $10
  • Minimum Trade: $10

Pros

  • A free demo account means new users and prospective day traders can try the broker risk-free
  • The $10 minimum deposit and straightforward account opening process means beginners can get started quickly
  • The online broker offers an intuitive social investment network with straightforward copy trading on cryptos

Cons

  • The proprietary terminal doesn't support trading bots and there are no additional stock market analysis tools
  • There's no MetaTrader 4 platform integration for traders who are accustomed to using third-party charting tools
  • Average fees may cut into the profit margins of day traders

#5 - OANDA US

Why We Chose OANDA US

OANDA is a popular brand offering exceptional execution, low deposit requirements and advanced charting and trading platform features. The top-rated brand has over 25 years of experience and is regulated by trusted agencies, including the NFA/CFTC. Around the clock support is available for short-term traders, alongside flexible contract sizes and automated trade executions.

"OANDA remains an excellent broker for US day traders seeking a user-friendly platform with premium analysis tools and a straightforward joining process. OANDA is also heavily regulated with a very high trust score."

- DayTrading Review Team
  • Instruments: Forex, Crypto
  • Regulator: NFA, CFTC
  • Platforms: OANDA Trade, MT4, TradingView, AutoChartist
  • Minimum Deposit: $0
  • Minimum Trade: 0.01 Lots
  • Leverage: 1:50

Pros

  • OANDA is a reliable, trustworthy and secure brand with authorization from tier-one regulators including the CFTC
  • The broker's API facilitates access to 25 years of deep historical data and rates from 200+ currencies
  • Day traders can enjoy fast and reliable order execution

Cons

  • The range of day trading markets is limited to forex and cryptos only
  • It's a shame that customer support is not available on weekends
  • There's only a small range of payment methods available, with no e-wallets supported

What Is Litecoin?

The straightforward definition is that Litecoin (LTC) is a digital currency that allows instant, low-cost payments to anybody in the world. The global payment network does not rely on any central authorities, such as a bank. Instead, complex maths creates a secure network that ensures rapid transaction times and impressive storage efficiency.

Its value has been tied to the increasing popularity that blockchain technology has enjoyed in recent years. It has also secured significant industry support while enjoying substantial trade volume and liquidity.

day trading Litecoin

History

Litecoin day trading through exchanges is accepted as normal today. However, it was only released via an open-source client on GitHub on October 7th, 2011. The founder was a former Google employee by the name of Charlie Lee. His network went live on October 13th and was a hard fork of the Bitcoin More client.

At that time it offered a reduced block generation time of 2.5 minutes, a seriously increased total maximum number of coins, plus a different hashing algorithm, known as Scrypt.

The timeline below should paint a clearer picture of Litecoin’s rise:

Benefits

It is perhaps unsurprising to see the staggering price history of this cryptocurrency when you consider its numerous benefits, including:

Drawbacks

Unfortunately, however, the outlook for this cryptocurrency has been hindered by several factors, including:

Mining Litecoin

Head over to forums and blogs and you quickly realise not everyone is interested in day trading Litecoin. Some are concerned with setting up a GPU mining rig instead.

Essentially, each time a transaction is made, it is grouped with other transactions that have been submitted within one of the recently submitted cryptographically-protected blocks. Computers (miners) then use GPU and/or CPU cycles to solve complex mathematical problems. This process passes data within a block of algorithm until their collective power finds a solution. It is at this point that the transactions within that block are stamped as verified.

Mining hardware and software offers another significant benefit. Each time a block is solved, a certain number of coins is distributed among those who helped solve the problem. Naturally, those in the mining pool that contributed the most will get the majority share.

Of course, you can encounter mining difficulty. For example, the algorithm used is known as Scrypt, which is extremely memory-intensive. As a result, you need to ensure you have the right hardware to meet the specifications for producing Litecoin. In addition, it is worth bearing in mind the cost of electricity. GPU miners, for example, require a tremendous amount of electricity to power their rigs.

Due to increasing popularity, you can now find information on mining calculators and apps from a range of online resources. A quick internet search will also bring up a list of cloud mining explorers.

How To Buy & Store Litecoin

Before you can start conducting price analysis and decide whether to buy or sell, you will need to find a place where you can store your Litecoins.

Unsurprisingly, since its introduction to Coinbase, Litecoin has seen a substantial rise in value. However, you can also buy Litecoins from other exchanges, including:

Hardware Wallets

Once you have purchased your Litecoins, you will also need to store them somewhere, such as a hardware wallet. These straightforward physical devices come in several forms. However, the USB stick style is preferred by many.

Yet even these wallets come with risks. There is the danger that the provider has logged all the private keys and could raid wallets at a later date. Alternatively, lapses in security could open you up to the risk of having your cryptocurrency coins hacked. One useful tip for remaining secure is to avoid using a pre-owned wallet altogether.

A couple of hardware wallets that come with positive user reviews are:

Desktop Wallets

A desktop wallet is a type of hot wallet. You can download and install one on a single computer, which is then only accessible from that device. Arguably it is more secure than an online wallet. However, they can prove inconvenient because you can only access your capital if you are on that specific device.

One of the top choices for desktop wallets is now Exodus. They support multiple cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin.

Mobile Wallets

Mobile wallets are another type of hot wallets where you can store your cryptocurrency while you make your 2024 forecasts and speculation. You simply need to download an app to your phone and then you can access your crypto capital with ease. Mobile wallets can be a good choice for those who like to trade while on the move.

Paper Wallets

The final option for storing your Litecoin is a paper wallet. This is an offline cold storage technique for storing your cryptocurrency. You print your public and private keys onto paper which you then store in a safe place. The keys are stored in QR codes, which you can scan for future transactions.

For those concerned with security and control, a paper wallet is a sensible choice. Your information is away from the reach of hackers and you have total control over that paper.

Video – What Is Litecoin?

Litecoin Day Trading Tips

Below you will find a number of useful tips you can use to help you assert a competitive edge when trading Litecoin.

1. Daily Chart Consolidation

Price charts and volume graphs are fantastic tools you need to harness. Historical prices can show you why Litecoin may have started falling in the past, so you can better predict when they will again in the future.

Cryptocurrencies often spike during periods of consolidation where, Litecoin, for example, will trade within a relatively tight price range. With this type of environment, Litecoin will normally have attractive follow through after a range is broken. So, to get the best entries, try to align patterns on your daily candlestick charts with your intraday time frame.

2. Be Patient

Once you have confirmed a breakout on the daily, you must find a safe entry in a shorter time frame. 15-minute charts are often recommended.

You don’t necessarily want to buy on the break of a resistance level just because you see a breakout on a daily. You can enter safely if you have a pattern to back up your position. So you may want to wait for a pullback after that first push. This may give you a better risk-reward ratio, as well as lower prices.

You will often find it is easier play the pullback following a big move, rather than attempting to anticipate a breakout. Cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin, do not usually head straight up without first taking a break.

3. Have a Strong Exit Plan

You need to ensure you have an effective exit plan once you have identified a good entry. Try to base your exits around daily and intraday resistance levels. With Litecoin, it helps to scale out into strength because it is so volatile that an unrealised gain can swiftly transition into a loss if you’re not careful.

An exit strategy where you sell your whole position when your target is hit could be worth considering. Alternatively, you might want to scale out in sections into the spikes, while retaining a quarter of your stocks for the larger move.

Scaling out can be great for beginners, in particular, as it prevents emotions persuading you to hold onto a position too long.

4. Get Educated

There are a whole host of resources available to aspiring Litecoin day traders. Informative websites can help you get to grips with blockchain technology. Most brokers also provide a range of research materials, as well as displaying prices live and Litecoin to dollar (USD) exchange rates.

In addition, check the latest news for expected prices for today and longer-term expectations. Websites such as Yahoo Finance often provide market updates and local analysis too. Training videos, webinars, tutorials and books are also easily accessible and can help with your Litecoin trading development.

You can also see our strategies page for guidance on how to capitalise on market opportunities.

Final Word on Litecoin

If you’re looking to become a cryptocurrency millionaire and feature on that rich list you’ll need to decide which digital currency you’re going to start day trading in. Litecoin appeals for a number of reasons, including speed, volume and market capitalisation.

However, volatility and news announcements can send the price of these coins plummeting and could lead to a crash. Therefore, caution must be taken when day trading with Litecoin or any other cryptocurrency.

For more information, other crypto options and forecasts for 2024, see our cryptocurrency page.

Further Reading