As market sentiment shifts following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent removal of tariffs on European countries, Chainlink (LINK) appears ready to embark on a substantial upward rally. This bullish outlook is bolstered by increasing trader confidence in long-leveraged positions, encouraging price movements, and Chainlink’s prominent role as a leading decentralized finance (DeFi) project, particularly noted for its development advancements.
Recent data from on-chain analytics firm Santiment revealed that Chainlink is currently leading DeFi projects in development activity, demonstrating a higher level of developer engagement compared to its peers. This ongoing enhancement of the protocol points to a continuous commitment to increasing security and reliability, which effectively strengthens long-term investor confidence.
As of January 22, LINK was trading at $12.40, marking a modest increase of 1.05% in the last 24 hours. However, this slight uptick came amid a notable surge in trading volume, which rose by 26% to reach $522.29 million. Traders are displaying significant interest in the asset, reflecting a growing optimism in its potential.
Analyzing the price action, LINK hovered near a critical support level of $11.90. This support level has a robust history of inducing price reversals and has proven resilient since November 2025. In fact, LINK has experienced over four price reversals from this level historically, suggesting that the asset may be preparing to repeat this pattern once again. If LINK sustains above the $11.90 support level, it could pave the way for a potential 15% upside move, possibly reaching $14 in the forthcoming days.
Despite lingering bearish momentum indicated by LINK trading below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), historical patterns reveal that the asset has occasionally rallied from below this threshold. Hence, market participants are eager to see if this trend will hold true once more.
In the derivatives market, intraday traders are capitalizing on historical patterns as they continue to favor long-leveraged positions, according to data from CoinGlass. The LINK Exchange Liquidation Map illustrates a significant imbalance, with traders heavily over-leveraged at key levels: $11.88 on the lower side (support) and $12.72 on the upper side (resistance). Traders have established $7.81 million in long-leveraged positions compared to $2.08 million in short-leveraged positions, indicating a prevalent bullish sentiment toward LINK.
In summary, Chainlink seems set for a significant upside move, contingent on its ability to maintain stability above the pivotal support level of $11.90. The bullish sentiment fueled by intraday traders, recent tariff removals, and robust development activity within the DeFi space bolsters LINK’s positive outlook in the near term.
