Why is Litecoin down today?

Litecoin's 3.1% slide to $59.41 has no coin-specific trigger — it is tracking a broad risk-off move in crypto, with Bitcoin down 2.1% to $81,576 over the same period. LTC is simply moving with higher beta: its 10% drop over the past week is five times Bitcoin's 2% decline, a familiar pattern for mid-cap large-cap alternatives when liquidity thins out. Volume of $273.89M against a $4.62B market cap points to selling rather than fresh demand.

The main driver is macro. September CPI came in at 3.7%, above forecasts, pushing Treasury yields higher and putting a Fed rate hike back in the conversation. That dragged crypto lower alongside equities, and assets without their own catalyst, like Litecoin, absorbed the bulk of the pressure.

Washington added to the drag. Patrick Witt is leaving his role as the White House's top crypto adviser with the Clarity Act stalled, removing a policy tailwind, while the OCC's findings of debanking practices at nine major US banks underlined that access to banking rails remains unresolved for digital-asset firms.