The value of any money is a shared illusion, or delusion! If you are trying to make a quick profit trading crypto-currencies, the fundamentals don't matter because you are merely playing a strategy game against others with the same intention. I believe most speculators are lazy and factor their perceptions of the "community momentum" into their decisions of when to buy and sell, and the LTC/Gox hype cycle is a perfect piece of speculative momentum for experienced traders to leverage. Pumps and dumps will happen, but they can also provide a great opportunity for investors who are operating on a different time scale. Sometimes so-called bag holders get the last laugh.
If you believe in the long term viability of Litecoin and other crypto-currencies, then stop worrying about the short-term price and focus your efforts on contributing to the infrastructure/economy/awareness/etc. If you have a long term position, doing so is a way to directly affect your investment. If you're long enough, you may reach a point where there isn't any need to "cash out" - after all we are talking about a currency and the whole point of acquiring money in the first place is to acquire purchasing power!
I agree buy and hold had been the best strategy for a long time
