Atomic swaps - transactions between blockchains occurring at high speed and with low transaction fees.

Technical requirements for atomic swaps are SEGWIT complete and Lightning network enabled.

Atomic swaps will allow transactions between, to and from BTC and LTC, to happen with high speed and no transaction costs.

https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@digicrypt/atomic-swaps-future-of-crypto

Value of LTC is:

1) very low transactions costs. Much lower than BTC.

2) transaction completion time is very fast. Much faster than BTC.

3) low level of politics involved in LTC technical evolution. Controlled primarily by Charlie Lee. LTC evolution is fast and seems highly efficient. No hard forks with multiple coin streams to date.  Compare to BTC which has already split into several active forks with multiple coins still trading.  More potential splits of BTC are looming. Nothing like that on the horizon for LTC.

4) once atomic swaps are enabled, LTC can become the main coin for commerce and transactions. Technically comparable to credit cards in terms of transaction completion time, but transactions fees are much lower. LTC could take over a meaningful portion of credit card transactions in the next few years. 

Think of the price that LTC could trade at, if LTC just had a fraction of the value of VISA, or Mastercard, or American Express, or Discover, or .....

The future vision of a big brother / little brother partnership is clear:

BTC becomes your savings account. BTC is a savings vehicle for long term store of value.

LTC becomes your chequing account/charge card.  You use LTC for some portion of day to day commerce (as a superior alternative to fiat cash, checks, or any current charge card).

I believe that is the vision that has caused LTC price to rise at an almost a linear rate over the last 6 months.

Looking at the chart above, the volatility in LTC has been much lower over the last six months than many other coins. And other than over the last month, there was no exponential price action. An exponentially increasing price chart is typically a signal of price entering unsustainable territory. But LTC has corrected over the last week and the price is now back down to the 6 month trend line. I don't expect a further significant drop in LTC price, too far below the 6 month trend line.

Extrapolate the previous 6 month trend line out for future six months, to the end of Q1'18, and there is little doubt that LTC price should  be back to at least $80.

Is extrapolation of historical trends a good way to predict future pricing?

Absolutely NOT !!  Extrapolation is a terrible way to predict future pricing.

But I'm willing to make an exception in this case and based partially on extrapolation, predict that LTC trades over $80 before Apr 2018.  That will be a 60% price increase relative to the current $50 price.

Why am I willing to make an exception and accept price extrapolation for LTC?

1) as per the beginning of this post, there are several fundamental reasons why LTC price should trend higher.  A higher price is not just extrapolation, it represents realizing the value of the technical vision and capabilities of LTC. And capturing the leadership position that LTC has, in being able to technically innovate at a faster rate than most other coins.

2) the volatility of LTC has been so low that line fitting for extrapolation is particularly simple.  With such an obvious trend, we can be somewhat more confident in predicting that the future will extrapolate from history.

3) predicting price rising to $80 isn't predicting a new high. It is just predicting that price returns to previous high territory. There is more risk and uncertainty if trying to use extrapolation to get to a new high. There is relatively less risk in using extrapolation to just get back to a previous high.

In summary, LTC will trade at $80 before Apr 2018, for a 60% price increase relative to today's price.

In the crypto world, this almost doesn't count as a prediction.  Just 60% increase in six months? 

Why is your predicted price increase for this crypto so low, will be the question from some sources.

Notice that for any "normal" investment paradigm, 60% increase in six months is unheard of.

When was the last time that the Dow Jones, S&P500, or NASDAQ increased by 60% in 6 months?

When was the last time that the price of your house increased by 60% in 6 months?

When was the last time that the price of your favorite precious metal increased by 60% in 6 months?

When was the last time that your investment grade rare art, rare wine, rare classic vehicle, or rare manuscript increased by 60% in 6 months?

So now you see why google searches for various cryptocurrencies are increasing at an exponential rate. This is where the money is now and in the near future, in terms of investing opportunities for out-sized returns.

Don't just go Seeking Alpha. 

Go to the place where people are Delivering Alpha!!

For my money, the most certain place to get a 60% increase in the next 6 months is LTC.

Go Charlie Lee! 

Go Litecoin!!  

Go Lightning Network !!! 

Go Atomic Swaps!!!! 

Go LTC!!!!!

Upvotes, resteems, and insightful comments always welcomed.

STEEM On.

DaveB

image original source material from coinbase.com (where you can buy and sell LTC)