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Major Success For Chainlink: US Banks’ Pilot Program Propels LINK Price Up 6%, Details

The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has partnered with blockchain oracle Chainlink and several prominent banking institutions in the United States to conduct a successful pilot aimed at accelerating the tokenization of funds. 

The collaboration has not only paved the way for the adoption of blockchain technology in the traditional asset management sector but has also had a significant impact on the price of Chainlink’s native cryptocurrency, LINK, which has surged past the $14 threshold.

Major Asset Managers Join DTCC And Chainlink

The pilot, called Smart NAV, was developed by DTCC to explore the extension of its Mutual Fund Profile Service I (MFPS I), an industry-standard platform that transmits “Price and Rate” data, also known as “NAV data.” 

By leveraging Chainlink’s cross-chain interoperability and blockchain abstraction capabilities, the pilot aimed to investigate the potential of on-chain price and rate data as a key enabler for new initiatives, particularly in the realm of mutual fund tokenization.

To evaluate the industry value of a DLT-based price and rate dissemination solution, DTCC collaborated with asset managers, service providers, and distributors, including American Century Investments, BNY Mellon, Edward Jones, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, JPMorgan, MFS Investment Management, Mid Atlantic Trust, and State Street. 

On-Chain Data Delivery For Fund Tokenization

According to the announcement, the results of the pilot were positive. The collaboration between DTCC, the US banking institutions, and Chainlink reportedly showed that structured data can be delivered on-chain, enabling the embedding of foundational data into multiple on-chain use cases. 

This capability has far-reaching implications, including supporting brokerage portfolio applications and facilitating real-time, automated data dissemination. Moreover, Smart NAV aims to provide built-in access to historical data and simplify the relay of price and rate data through new interfaces for data consumption.

Furthermore, the pilot reportedly achieved several key milestones, including validating user interfaces and applications that leverage on-chain data, establishing automation of data routing through smart contracts for dynamic data management, and preventing future fragmentation through Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). 

Ultimately, the DTCC stated that the partnership with Chainlink has played a key role in the success of the Smart NAV use case. By providing an abstraction layer through its cross-chain interoperability capabilities, Chainlink has facilitated “seamless” transmission of data across multiple blockchains. 

This approach eliminates the need for DTCC to establish individual connections to each blockchain, mitigating costs and operational complexities while ensuring data accessibility and optimization.

Bullish Momentum For LINK 

As of the time of this press release, the LINK token has successfully surged above the $14.88 mark, experiencing a notable 6.8% increase in price since the initial announcement on Thursday. 

Data from CoinGecko indicates that the token’s trading volume has also seen a significant surge of 17% in the last hours, reaching a substantial figure of $400 million. 

Chainlink

However, for LINK to recover from its 72% losses from its all-time high of $52.70 reached in May 2021, it faces two key resistance levels as shown on the token’s daily LINK/USD chart above. 

These resistance walls are located at $15.18 and $17.8 respectively, before potentially moving towards the $20 mark. It remains to be seen whether the current bullish momentum will persist and further propel the price of LINK beyond these levels.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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Chainlink Open Interest Sitting At Record Levels, What This Means For Price

Chainlink has seen its open interest spike significantly in the month of February, so much so that it has reached new all-time highs. This trend has not waned despite the decline in the price of the cryptocurrency, which could paint a rather bullish picture for the LINK price going forward.

Chainlink Open Interest Crosses $450 Million

The Chainlink open interest ended the month of January on a high note and carried this trend into the month of February. A major jump was seen between January 31 and February 3 when the open interest went from below $250 million to more than $320 million.

In the days following this, the open interest continued to rise, and eventually hit a peak of $533 million. This was significant because it was not just the highest point for the year but it is the highest that the open interest has ever been for the asset.

Chainlink Open interest

As expected, the price would quickly rise to keep up with the open interest as investors continued to place their bets on the price. There has been a retracement in the open interest. However, Chainlink has continued to maintain more than $450 million in open interest since February 12.

Currently, Coinglass data shows that the Chainlink open interest is $456 million as of February 23, continuing to maintain a high level. Given this, it might be prudent to look at how the LINK price has reacted in the past when open interest remained elevated.

Historical Performance Of The LINK Price

While the Chainlink open interest is at record levels, there have been times in the past where the open interest had been elevated for a period of time like it is now. So, how the price reacted during those periods could provide a pointer for how it might perform now.

The last time that the open interest was this elevated for a long period of time was back in October-November 2023 when open interest more than doubled. It would maintain this elevated level for almost a month, but at the end of it, the LINK price would react positively and saw a price surge from $11 to $15, which was a 36% increase in price.

If this scenario were to repeat now, then a 36% increase would send the LINK price to $24. This is not particularly hard to believe, given that the LINK price had topped out at $52 in the last bull market. So, such a move would still leave it 50% below its all-time high levels.

On the flip side of this, the open interest levels could also taper off, as was seen in November 2023. This could see the LINK open interest lose its hold on the $450 million that it maintained in February and fall toward $400 million before recovering again.

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Chainlink Breeds New Whales As $49.9 Million Accumulation Spree Cause Prices To Surge

Chainlink (LINK) has traders buzzing as its price has been up by 40% since the last week of January, massively outpacing the broader cryptocurrency market. Amidst this price spike, mysterious whale wallets have been topping up their holdings, as evidenced by on-chain data. 

According to blockchain tracker Lookonchain, there’s been a massive outflow of LINK from crypto exchange Binance in the past two days, particularly with 49 new wallets receiving 2,745,815 LINK within this timeframe. 

Massive LINK Accumulation Occurs On Binance Before Withdrawal

Details from Binance point to an ongoing accumulation of LINK from the crypto exchange. In the middle of this accumulation, a particular whale or institution has been going on a buying spree, gobbling up more than 2.7 million LINK tokens worth $49.9 million. This accumulation came days after the Lookonchain noticed that four new wallets had withdrawn over 119,583 LINK tokens worth over $2.15 million from Binance.

Similarly, Lookonchain noted that another whale address “0x2A19” has withdrawn 494,957 LINK tokens worth $9 million from Binance in the past 10 days. Notably, whale transaction tracker Whale Alerts has also noted some accumulation of LINK tokens from other crypto exchanges.

Analytics platform Santiment also noted that LINK whale addresses have upped their activity amidst the price surge as large amounts of coins were moved by previously stagnant wallets. This influx of tokens back into the network’s circulation, coupled with a minor liquidation of wallets, seems to have contributed to the price spike.

How Will New Chainlink Whales Impact Price Action Going Forward?

The crypto industry is currently going through a modest price gain led by Bitcoin recently breaking above the $44,000 level again. As a result, the industry is now up by 3.25% in the past 24 hours, with a 22.60% increase in trading volume. 

LINK hasn’t been left out of this price gain, registering a 4.30% gain in the past 24 hours. However, LINK has been on a sustained breakout since January, reaching as high as $19.68 on February 5. 

The price spike isn’t particularly surprising, as fundamentals of the Chainlink ecosystem point to a steady price growth for LINK. Chainlink’s role in DeFi and NFTs with its smart contracts oracles cannot be overstated. Chainlink also recently released its Staking v0.2 protocol in December, allowing investors to stake a minimum of 1 LINK for a base floor reward rate of 4.5% per year in LINK.

Consequently, the massive accumulation of LINK by whales is a very bullish signal for the token’s price action going forward. These large investors see LINK’s long-term value and potential and are loading up their bags in anticipation of higher prices.

LINK price chart from Tradingview.com (Chainlink whales)

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Chainlink Breakout: LINK Poised For 38% Rally If It Clears This Key Resistance

Decentralized oracle network Chainlink (LINK) has been making significant strides in the altcoin market, outperforming its peers with an impressive 44.8% price increase over the past 30 days. 

Surging to a 24-month high, the cryptocurrency has inched closer to the $20 mark, attracting the attention of bullish investors. Notably, the uptrend for LINK may be far from over, as it can potentially record a substantial 38% price gain by breaking through a critical resistance level.

Chainlink Trading Volume Skyrockets

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez indicates that Chainlink faces formidable resistance between its current trading price of $19.40 and $20.03, with 5,330 addresses collectively holding over 8.59 million LINK. 

Chainlink

Despite this supply wall, if Chainlink manages to break through, Ali Martinez suggests that the next critical resistance level stands at $26.87, presenting an opportunity for a significant 38% price surge.

Adding to the positive outlook, Chainlink has witnessed a surge in trading volume and an increase in circulating market cap over the past few days. 

Data from Token Terminal reveals that while Chainlink’s trading volume has steadily risen over the past 30 days, the token experienced exceptional trading volume of over $9.5 billion in the past three days alone. This surge in trading activity suggests a growing interest from investors in the Chainlink protocol.

Chainlink

Examining the circulating market cap, Token Terminal data highlights a positive trend. The circulating market cap of Chainlink stands at $10.53 billion, displaying a notable increase of 32.66% over the past 30 days. In terms of fully diluted market cap, Chainlink records $18.16 billion, indicating a substantial rise of 28.89% over the same period.

Institutional Interest In LINK?

Recent blockchain data suggests that institutional investors are actively accumulating LINK. According to Spot On Chain data, the emergence of eight wallets withdrawing a substantial amount of LINK tokens, coupled with a price surge shortly after, indicates institutional interest in the cryptocurrency. 

Over the past twelve hours, eight new wallets, likely representing a single individual or institution, have collectively withdrawn 227,350 LINK tokens, equivalent to approximately $4.12 million at the withdrawal time. 

Notably, a significant portion of these tokens was withdrawn from centralized exchanges (CEX) just before the price experienced a sudden increase of approximately 4.1%. This pattern suggests that institutions may strategically accumulate LINK tokens, anticipating future price appreciation.

Moreover, as indicated by its performance on the algorithmic market scanner Commando, LINK has consistently been a top performer in the cryptocurrency market. 

According to the market intelligence platform Decentrader, with a current score of 1.83 and a green signal on low time frames, Chainlink’s technical analysis suggests a positive outlook for the cryptocurrency. Noteworthy is the recent breakthrough of Chainlink’s price from a range held up by the 200-week moving average (200WMA). 

This breakout indicates a shift in market sentiment and a potential upward trend. The cryptocurrency is now aiming to target the “Sniper resistance” level just above $20 while finding support at the top of the previous range, around $16.8, according to Decentrader. 

Overall, institutions’ accumulation of Chainlink tokens and the cryptocurrency’s technical breakout point to growing confidence in LINK’s investment potential. 

The withdrawals from centralized exchanges suggest a desire to hold LINK tokens outside exchange custody, possibly indicating a longer-term investment strategy. 

Chainlink

Currently, LINK is trading at $19.7, up 8% in the last 24 hours.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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Renowned Crypto Expert Reveals Top 3 Altcoins Ready To Breakout In February 2024

A prominent crypto analyst and Bitcoin enthusiast, Michael Van de Poppe, has shared insights on the future trajectory of several altcoins in the space. The crypto analyst’s predictions highlight crucial moments for investors as they watch out for opportune times to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in this dynamic market. 

Altcoins Set To Rise In 2024

Following the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin experienced a substantial surge, rallying to overcome the $45,000 price mark. During this bullish momentum, the prices of several altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), also witnessed significant increases. 

In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, Poppe revealed major altcoins to buy or sell in 2024. The crypto analyst shared a chart illustrating the historical price movements and corrections of Solana, Polygon (MATIC) and Chainlink (LINK). 

Poppe revealed that Solana’s consolidation phase appears to have ended after it experienced a major decline from its 2023 peak of over $123 to $95.81 at the time of writing. His analysis suggests that Solana is poised for a higher time frame support test at $80 and is anticipated to surge to new highs, potentially reaching $140. 

Subsequently, the crypto analyst presented a historical performance chart of MATIC, the native token of Polygon. Noting that the cryptocurrency has maintained higher time frame support levels with established liquidity, Poppe predicts an upcoming upward movement despite MATIC’s recent underperformance. 

He forecasts that MATIC’s next rally could propel its price to a range between $1.25 and $1.50. As of now, the price of MATIC is trading at $0.789, reflecting a 2.39% decline in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. 

The Bitcoin enthusiast also anticipates a substantial price increase for Chainlink’s native token, LINK. The crypto analyst revealed that the cryptocurrency has consistently held crucial price levels and is positioned for an upward momentum towards $25. At the time of writing, the price of LINK stands at $14.65, representing a 0.12% increase in the last 24 hours. 

Underperforming Crypto In 2024

In his X post, Poppe unveiled a roster of altcoins that has been struggling to surge and maintain crucial resistance levels. The crypto analyst pointed out that Ethereum’s recent slow growth has adversely impacted many altcoins, causing them to experience further declines. 

He mentioned Synthetix (SNX), which is currently depreciating primarily due to Ethereum’s lagging performance. Additionally, there is Arbitrum (ARB) and Polkadot (DOT), which Poppe predicts would have a significant price increase in the future. 

The Bitcoin enthusiast stated that if ARB can return to a price level of around $1.40 and $1.60, it could open up new entries into a more sustainable position. Subsequently, Poppe predicts a rise in the price of Polkadot to $15 despite its current price trading at $6.80. 

The crypto analyst revealed that DOT is currently showcasing a “great weekly candle”, and its previous price corrections present a great opportunity for investors in the ongoing bull market. 

Crypto Total Market Cap on Tradingview.com (Altcoins Analyst)

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Chainlink (LINK) Breakout: Accumulation Zone Points To Upside Potential, $20 In Sight

The decentralized Oracle network Chainlink and its native token LINK have grown impressively in the past month. Despite experiencing a correction since late December, where LINK reached a 20-month high of $17.6, the token has shown signs of renewed bullish momentum. 

Key Resistance Levels For LINK’s Price Rally

Renowned crypto analyst Ali Martinez has identified a robust demand zone for Chainlink between $14.8 and $15.2, slightly below its current trading price of $15.415. 

Within this range, many addresses (17,650) purchased 85.12 million LINK. With limited resistance, LINK appears to be well-positioned to advance towards the $20 mark.

Chainlink

Based on the analyst’s observations, if the current bullish momentum witnessed over the past seven days persists, LINK could swiftly reach the $20 price level. Looking at LINK’s 1-day chart, the next resistance levels to overcome before potentially climbing toward $20 are $15.55, $16.69, and $16.92. Breaching these levels would pave the way for a clear path towards the $20 milestone.

However, it is important to note that in the absence of major resistance walls, the battle for the next direction of LINK’s movements remains equally balanced. In the event of another price correction or selling pressure, the token lacks significant support walls to rely on.

Chainlink

Analyzing LINK’s 1-day chart, the first support level in the event of a drop would be around $14.22. If this level is breached, the next support stands at $13.31. A further decline could test the support at the $11 price level. A breach of this level could signify a breakdown in the four-month bullish structure of LINK.

Chainlink Ecosystem Growth

Despite the battle for supremacy between LINK’s bulls and bears, the protocol’s ecosystem has shown notable growth in key metrics since the last update. For example, Chainlink’s circulating market capitalization is $8.35 billion, reflecting a positive growth rate of 3.58%.

According to Token Terminal data, in terms of revenue over the past 30 days, Chainlink has generated $11.67 thousand. However, this figure shows a decline of 54.16% compared to the previous period, indicating a decrease in earnings during this timeframe.

Considering the fully diluted market capitalization, which considers the maximum number of Chainlink tokens that could exist in the future, the value stands at $14.82 billion. This metric has experienced a slight increase of 3.48% recently.

When it comes to revenue on an annual basis, Chainlink has generated $219.81 thousand. This represents a positive growth rate of 2.64%, indicating an upward trend in the company’s earnings over a year.

Regarding financial ratios, Chainlink’s price-to-fully-diluted ratio is calculated at an astonishing 68,246.47x. This metric compares the company’s market capitalization to its fully diluted market capitalization. It reflects the premium investors will pay for each unit of potential future tokens.

Similarly, based on the fully diluted market capitalization, the price-to-sales ratio is reported to be 68,246.47x. This ratio measures the company’s valuation relative to its annualized revenue and indicates how much investors will pay for each dollar of sales generated.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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Chainlink Staking Program Exceeds Expectations, Drives LINK Price Up By 12%

In a significant development for the blockchain data-oracle project, Chainlink (LINK) has witnessed a significant response to its enhanced crypto-staking program, amassing over $632 million worth of its LINK tokens within a remarkably short period. 

The company announced a recent press release highlighting the “overwhelming demand” during the early-access period, which filled the staking limit in just six hours.

Chainlink Unveils Staking v0.2

Chainlink, recognized as the industry-standard decentralized computing platform, unveiled Chainlink Staking v0.2, the latest upgrade to the protocol’s native staking mechanism. 

The Early Access phase has commenced, inviting eligible participants to stake up to 15,000 LINK tokens. This phase will last four days before transitioning into the General Access phase, enabling investors to stake up to 15,000 LINK tokens as long as the staking pool remains unfilled. 

Per the announcement, the upgrade introduces an expanded pool size of 45,000,000 LINK tokens, equivalent to 8% of the current circulating supply. This enlargement aims to enhance the accessibility of Chainlink Staking, enabling a more diverse audience of LINK token holders to participate. 

Staking forms an integral part of Chainlink Economics 2.0, which brings an additional layer of cryptoeconomic security to the Chainlink Network. Specifically, Chainlink Staking empowers ecosystem participants, including node operators and community members, to support the performance of Oracle services by staking LINK tokens and earning rewards for contributing to network security.

While v0.1 served as the initial phase of the Staking program, v0.2 has been restructured into a fully modular, extensible, and upgradable Staking platform. Building upon the lessons learned from the previous release, the v0.2 beta version focuses on several key objectives. 

Chainlink is introducing several new features to enhance its staking program. These include a new unbinding mechanism that provides more flexibility for Community and Node Operator Stakers.

Additionally, security guarantees for Oracle services are being reinforced by slashing node operator stakes. A modular architecture is being adopted to support future improvements and additions, and a dynamic rewards mechanism is being introduced to seamlessly accommodate new external sources of rewards in the future, such as user fees.

Following the conclusion of the Early Access phase on December 11, 2023, the v0.2 staking pool will transition to General Access. At this stage, anyone will have the opportunity to stake up to 15,000 LINK tokens.

LINK Surges To New Yearly High

Given Chainlink’s successful upgrade, LINK, the native token of the decentralized computing platform, experienced a significant surge of 12%, reaching a price as high as $17.305. 

This price level has not been seen since April 2022, signifying a new yearly high for the cryptocurrency. However, LINK has retraced slightly and is currently trading at $16.774.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez has highlighted a critical support zone for Chainlink. Martinez noted that over 17,000 addresses purchased 47 million LINK tokens from $14.4 to $14.8. 

This accumulation by many addresses suggests strong buying interest in this price range, potentially acting as a support level for the token.

Chainlink

While the support zone may hold and trigger a rebound in the price of LINK, Martinez cautions that investors should remain vigilant. Any signs of weakness, such as a breach of the support zone or negative market sentiment, could prompt investors to sell their LINK holdings to avoid losses.

It remains to be seen whether LINK can maintain its position above these critical levels and whether the broader cryptocurrency market will enter an accumulation phase or experience a retracement after the significant upward movement witnessed in recent weeks. 

Such a retracement could potentially impact LINK’s price and lead to a test of the support above levels. On the other hand, the token faces immediate resistance at $17.483, $18.069, and $18.910. These represent the final hurdles to overcome before LINK reaches the $20 milestone.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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Chainlink (LINK) Surge Far From Done As Crypto Analyst Predicts Rise To $15

Chainlink (LINK) is one of the altcoins that have enjoyed a massive resurgence in recent days alongside the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. The token rose to as high as $10 on October 23 and seems to have established support at that level. Following this, some crypto analysts have gone on to analyze whether or not it can sustain this momentum.   

Can The Chainlink Rally Be Sustained?

In a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, crypto analyst Felix drew up an analysis of LINK’s price movement on the charts, noting that the token could see “further price movement, especially if it claims above the critical 500+ day resistance at >$9.6.”

Chainlink LINK

Source: X

He also seemed to suggest that a period of whale accumulation may have led to this price surge as over $9.92 million worth of LINK tokens were sent out of exchanges to wallets when it was still trading at around $7.26. LINK has risen by over 33% since then. 

Chainlink LINK $15

Source: IntoTheBlock

Felix highlighted the fact that the Chainlink ecosystem was displaying impressive on-chain strength at the moment, which ultimately leads one to question whether or not the rally can be sustained.

LINK’s Figures Are On The Rise

As Felix pointed out, LINK’s price seems to be experiencing an ‘up-only’ trend currently, and all other metrics are not left behind as the ecosystem is also seeing an increase in the number of active and new addresses. According to data from IntoTheBlock, the number of active addresses on the Chainlink network is steadily rising alongside the price increase.

In the last 7 days, the network has seen an increase of over 112% in the number of active addresses on the network. Meanwhile, there has also been an increase of over 190% in the number of new addresses on the network. 

As expected, the number of transactions on the network has also risen during this period, with Chainlink recording a 7-day high of over 12,000 transactions on October 23. Consequently, the trading volume is up over 7% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

There is also reason to believe that this momentum might be far from over, as fundamentals seem to be contributing to the bullish sentiment. If so, there is more good news ahead for the Bulls and Chainlink community as the Chainlink Staking v0.2 is set to launch before the year runs out. Many believe that LINK maximalists are going to continue to accumulate ahead of the launch.  

In reaction to an X post about an impending launch of the Staking v0.2, one crypto analyst boldly asserted that LINK could rise to as high as $15 later this year. 

Chainlink LINK price chart from Tradingview.com

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LINK Price Primed For Meteoric Rise: Analyst Predicts 130% Rally To $18

The LINK price is no stranger to bullish rallies, and in September alone, the token has gone from a low of $5.8 to a peak of $7.9. Even now, bullish momentum among enthusiasts has not waned, especially with a 130% price increase prediction from a crypto analyst.

LINK Price Prediction Ahead Of October

In the analysis posted to TradingView, pseudonymous analyst Babenski explains the reasoning behind the $18 surge presented in their chart. First, it points to the $5.8 low that was recorded back in mid-September which is identified as the accumulation range.

This is not out of the ordinary given the massive buying that took place when the LINK price fell to $5.8. This accumulation was the reason behind the support that was generated shortly after, which served as the lift-off point for the rally toward $8.

Despite already seeing a nice 35% jump from its September lows, the analyst sees further upside. Putting the peak of the rally at $18 means that the LINK price could rise another 130% if it plays out as expected.

LINK price chart from Tradingview.com crypto analyst

The first roadblock is a retracement that was placed just above the $8 level, and LINK is already seeing a similar retracement after almost touching $8. Going by the analyst’s chart, the price could decline a bit further before picking up once more and then shooting straight to $18.

There is no timeframe added for when the LINK price would reach this price. But with September drawing to a close, October-November is more likely.

LINK Whales Take Initiative

The accumulation trend pointed out above has been mainly mounted by the LINK whales. Crypto analyst @ali_charts shared a chart on X (formerly Twitter) that showed that whales holding between 10,000 and 1,000 coins have been the main buyers.

According to Ali, these whales bought up more than 7.5 million tokens in a matter of weeks which translated to about $53 million spent buying LINK. As the LINK price has risen, these holders are seeing profit on their purchase, which could explain the downward correction in the LINK price in the last day.

Nevertheless, the digital asset remains bullish, especially with the whales still holding more than 206 million coins. This suggests that they are not tempted to sell into the present rally and could be holding on for higher prices.

LINK has been an impressive performer so far this week. It is up 15% on the 7-day chart, making it the best performer of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap.