Chainlink experienced a price of approximately $7.86 on June 9, while simultaneously witnessing a surge in wallet participation, highlighting a contrast with its declining price trend. According to data from crypto.news, $LINK has been struggling, remaining below the $8 mark after a notable drop of over 11% over the past week.
Data from Santiment indicates that the number of wallets holding at least one $LINK token has reached over 535,000, marking the highest figure since December 2022. Despite this uptick, the token’s price has yet to return to its previous cycle highs. While the growth in wallet numbers suggests broader network participation, $LINK must reclaim key moving averages to signal a potential breakout.
The analytics firm emphasized that the rising wallet counts are indicative of increased participation rather than mere short-term speculation. Although accounts with smaller holdings do not exert significant market influence, consistent growth in wallet numbers indicates that more users are engaging with and retaining $LINK even amidst price pressures.
Santiment reported a total of 535,650 wallets holding $LINK as of Monday, coinciding with price levels not seen since before the anticipated rallies of 2024 and 2025. Over the last 24 hours, the token traded within a range of $7.81 to $8.12, maintaining a market capitalization of around $5.72 billion and daily trading volume near $286 million.
Currently, the token trades beneath its critical nine-day moving average of $8.03 and the 21-day moving average of $8.78, indicating that recent price activity is weaker than the overarching short-term trend. A daily closing price above $8.03 could signal a shift in momentum, paving the way for buyers to target the next resistance at $8.78, before reaching the 50-day exponential moving average around $9.04.
Support remains at the $7.80 level, and if this is breached, $LINK could fall to $7.48, followed by $7.15 and a recent low of $6.99. Since February, $LINK has consistently traded below $10, having recorded six consecutive months of losses. A move above $9.04 and $9.48 could bolster the broader market outlook, while the 200-day moving average positioned near $10.70 continues to represent a significant resistance point.
The Chaikin Money Flow indicator, meanwhile, stands at approximately -0.10, indicating that selling actions and capital withdrawals currently dominate buying pressure. This weak money flow dampens the significance of the increasing wallet numbers, suggesting that $LINK may continue to attract holders while its price remains under pressure, particularly if these wallets contain only minor balances.
Additional momentum indicators show a similar situation; the relative strength index (RSI) hovers near 35, suggesting that while selling pressure has lessened, buyers have yet to generate significant momentum. The MACD and its corresponding signal line are both positioned below zero, affirming a bearish trend despite recent attempts to stabilize above $7.80.
For a robust breakout, improvements in price, volume, and money flow must occur simultaneously. A close above $8.03 without corresponding capital inflows may face challenges around the $8.78 mark.
On a positive note, institutional demand appears robust as evidenced by the inflows into U.S. spot Chainlink exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to SoSoValue data, the ETF products registered about $1.81 million in net inflows on Monday, bringing total net assets to $101.21 million. Since their launch on December 2, these funds have successfully avoided negative daily net flows. This sustained ETF buying represents an additional layer of spot demand, even though the figures remain modest compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum counterparts.
Derivatives activity also saw an increase, with Coinglass reporting that open interest rose over 4% to $373.06 million. Futures trading volumes reached around $480.8 million, with liquidations totaling approximately $320,000 within a 24-hour window. While these figures indicate heightened trader activity, they do not provide a definitive directional trend.
The open-interest-weighted funding rate moved to 0.0024% after previously seeing a dip to -0.0023%, signaling mild interest in long positions, although the demand level is still insufficient to demonstrate strong bullish sentiment.
Chainlink’s network utilization underscores its fundamental value, having secured over $110 billion in value through its cross-chain and oracle infrastructure by late May. To strengthen its rebound, $LINK must hold the $7.80 level and achieve a close above $8.03. A breach of $8.78 would set the stage for a potential rise towards $9.04 and the significant resistance level at $10. Conversely, a decline below $7.80 would refocus attention on previous support levels of $7.48 and $6.99.
