Chainlink (LINK) has seen a notable surge in whale activity following the launch of its second U.S. spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), which began trading this week. This new development comes at a time when the broader cryptocurrency market is experiencing a downturn, yet the total net assets of LINK-related ETFs are approaching $100 million.
The Bitwise Chainlink ETF, which trades under the ticker CLNK, made its debut on NYSE Arca on January 14. This ETF boasts a relatively modest management fee of 0.34%, although Bitwise is waiving this fee for the first three months, aiming to attract up to $500 million in assets. On its opening day, the ETF pulled in $2.59 million in net inflows, resulting in total net assets of $5.18 million and a trading volume of $3.24 million. This follows the earlier launch of Grayscale’s Chainlink Trust ETF in December, which saw impressive first-day inflows of $37.05 million. Together, these funds have propelled the total LINK ETF net assets to approximately $95.87 million.
This uptick in institutional investment is mirrored by significant activity among LINK whales. According to on-chain data, there has been a marked increase in large-scale withdrawals from exchanges. A particular whale wallet withdrew 139,950 LINK—valued at around $1.96 million—from Binance, shortly after removing 202,607 tokens worth approximately $2.7 million. In total, the whale’s holdings now comprise 342,557 LINK, amounting to $4.81 million accumulated over the past two days.
Additionally, another whale wallet withdrew 207,328 LINK, valued at about $2.78 million, on January 12. Balances held by whale wallets have increased by 1.37% over the past week, while the amount of LINK held on exchanges has decreased by 1% during the same period. This trend typically indicates a preference for long-term accumulation rather than short-term trading.
Despite the growing institutional interest and whale activity, LINK’s price has faced pressure, declining 1% in the past day and trading at approximately $13.92 at the time of reporting. As the market continues to fluctuate, all eyes will be on how these developments will impact LINK’s future performance and broader crypto market dynamics.
