A 23-message transaction corrupted pool accounting before CACAO fell 88.7%, widening the damage that Maya's recovery plan still must reconcile.
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Chainlink drew more than $7 billion of token value onto its cross-chain infrastructure in the second quarter as institutional adoption accelerated, according to its second-quarter review. The migration came as crypto projects replaced older bridging systems and traditional-finance firms moved deeper into tokenized markets, expanding Chainlink’s role across both sides of the digital-asset economy. Chainlink […]
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# Aave Picks Chainlink CCIP As Default Standard For Cross-Chain sGHO
Bridge security is one of those crypto topics that only gets attention when something breaks. Mantle’s decision to migrate Super Portal infrastructure to Chainlink CCIP is a reminder that serious networks cannot afford t
Robinhood’s crypto strategy is becoming less about offering a few coins and more about owning infrastructure. Its decision to use Chainlink CCIP for its Layer-2 network adds another piece to that shift, especially as the
Tokenized finance becomes much more interesting when it stops being a concept deck and starts looking like fund plumbing. Fidelity’s FILQ integration with Chainlink fits that category. The headline is not just that a la
Chainlink CCIP Comes To Arbitrum Orbit as Layer-3 Builders Chase Safer Messaging is the kind of crypto story that looks simple at headline level but becomes more useful once you place it inside the wider market backdrop. As networks become
The layer-2 race is not only about speed and low fees anymore. It is also about how easily assets and messages can move between chains. Chainlink’s CCIP integration with zkSync Era lands directly in that part of the mark
Tokenization becomes much more interesting when it stops sounding like a crypto slogan and starts appearing inside the rails traditional finance already trusts. That is what makes the Swift and Chainlink trial work worth
Chainlink Network Growth Surges With 6,100 New Addresses in Two Days: key Chainlink network growth context, verified claims, market impact, and risk notes
Chainlink Whales Shift Millions in LINK to Binance Prior to TradFi Pangea Disclosure: a fresh look at Chainlink whale transfers Binance, market context, ke
Chainlink Marks Two Highest Network Growth Days of 2026 Amid Broad Price Correction: a fresh look at Chainlink network growth, market context, key risks, a
Kalshi’s broader board is now visible, but depth, spreads, funding, and venue habit will decide whether alt markets matter.
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The framework targets T+0 payment-versus-payment settlement while keeping banks on familiar Swift and ISO 20022 workflows.
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Banks across Europe and South Korea will study whether regulated euro and won stablecoins can enable real-time cross-border foreign exchange settlement.
Chainlink’s role in World Cup prediction-market settlement highlights oracle infrastructure as event markets move further into the mainstream.
The integration enhances transparency and trust, potentially boosting institutional adoption and liquidity in the DeFi space for KRW stablecoins.
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This partnership could revolutionize sports prediction markets, enhancing transparency, efficiency, and fan engagement on a global scale.
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The migration highlights a shift towards more secure cross-chain solutions, emphasizing the industry's focus on reducing systemic risks.
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Chainlink is struggling below $10 as selling pressure and broader market uncertainty keep the price pinned beneath a resistance level that has capped every recovery attempt in recent weeks. The price action is frustrating — but data from analyst MorenoDV has identified a structural development in the exchange flow data that reframes what the current weakness is actually occurring against. Related Reading: Ethereum Flashes A Rare Signal As Open Interest Reaches Highest Level Since 2019 Binance currently custodies approximately 85.1 million LINK worth roughly $766 million — representing 66.4% of the 128.26 million LINK held across all exchanges combined. That concentration is the first structural fact that changes how any Binance-specific LINK flow data should be interpreted. When two-thirds of all exchange-held LINK sits on a single venue, extreme netflow days on that venue are not reflecting broad market behavior. They are Binance-specific imbalances that effectively set the supply tone for the entire LINK market. The reserve chart that MorenoDV examines tells a clean and directional story across a multi-year timeframe. Since the 2022 to 2023 peaks when Binance reserves approached 145 million LINK, the holdings have tracked a well-defined descending channel and now sit near the lower boundary at approximately 85 million. The intermittent upward spikes visible in the data are real but temporary — bursts rather than trend reversals. The dominant behavioral pattern across the entire period is coins leaving the platform. The netflow data confirms the mechanism behind that structural decline — and what it reveals about who is moving LINK and why changes the interpretation of the current price weakness considerably. Inflow Spikes Are Noise The MorenoDV analysis draws the distinction that prevents the intermittent inflow bursts from being misread as accumulation events. Positive netflow spikes in LINK’s Binance data cluster around volatile periods — moments when price is already moving. And the pattern that follows them is more consistent with sell pressure arriving than with genuine buying conviction building. Chainlink Exchange Netflow on Binance | Source: CryptoQuant Inflow-heavy spikes have more frequently been followed by weaker closes over the subsequent one to three days than by price strength. The behavioral interpretation is straightforward: deposits arriving ahead of sell pressure or redistribution activity rather than reflecting holders moving coins onto the exchange to buy more. The timing of inflows relative to price weakness confirms the direction of intent more often than not. The critical distinction the analysis establishes is between inflow activity and accumulation. LINK is frequently deposited to Binance and then withdrawn shortly after. Moving to self-custody wallets or rival venues rather than converting into exchange selling. The result is a pattern of short-term inflow noise sitting above a reserve line that keeps drifting structurally lower. Regardless of the temporary spikes that periodically interrupt the trend. The structural decline on Binance is not being driven by any single event or any cluster of inflow bursts. It is the cumulative expression of a market where the dominant behavior — coins leaving Binance permanently — has persisted through every temporary inflow spike without reversing the underlying direction. That persistent structural outflow is the signal. Everything else is noise sitting on top of it. Related Reading: Uniswap Price Slides As Binance Absorbs Millions Of Tokens – Traders Are Watching Chainlink Stuck At Critical Long-Term Support On the weekly timeframe, Chainlink remains trapped in a prolonged downtrend that has defined most of the price action since the late-2024 highs near $30. LINK currently trades around $9, a level that has repeatedly acted as a major support zone throughout 2025 and 2026. While sellers continue to dominate the broader structure, the chart suggests that bears are struggling to force a decisive breakdown below this area. Chainlink consolidates around long-term support level | Source: LINKUSDT chart on TradingView The most notable feature is the compression taking place around the $8.50–$9.50 range. After the sharp decline from the $25 region, LINK has spent several months building a base above support rather than continuing lower. This behavior often reflects a period of equilibrium between long-term buyers and sellers as the market searches for direction. Related Reading: HYPE Whale Bets Grow Larger As Institutional-Linked Accumulation Reaches $170M However, the trend remains technically bearish. LINK trades below the 50-week, 100-week, and 200-week moving averages, all of which continue to slope downward. The 50-week moving average near $14 and the 100-week moving average around $15.5 now represent major resistance levels that bulls must reclaim to confirm a structural trend reversal. For now, $8.50 remains the key support to watch. Holding this level keeps the possibility of a long-term accumulation range intact. While a breakdown could expose the 2023 consolidation region between $6 and $7. Reclaiming $10.50 would be the first signal that buyers are regaining control. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
On-chain data shows whale-sized Chainlink wallets have reached a new all-time high (ATH), a sign that big-money interest has been flowing into the network. Chainlink Wallets With At Least 100,000 LINK Have Set A New Record According to data from on-chain analytics firm Santiment, Chainlink has seen large wallets reach a new record. The indicator of relevance here is the “Supply Distribution,” which tells us about the total number of addresses that belong to a particular address group. Related Reading: Render Jumps 30% As Key On-Chain Metrics Break Out Wallets or investors are divided into these cohorts based on the number of tokens that they are carrying in their balance. For example, the 1 to 10 coins group includes all addresses holding between 1 and 10 LINK. In the context of the current topic, the range of interest is the one with a lower bound at 100,000 LINK and no upper limit. At the current exchange rate, the cutoff for the range converts to $957,000, which is a significant amount. Thus, the only investors who would qualify for the group will be the big-money entities like the sharks and whales. Such holders can carry some degree of influence on the network so their behavior can be worth keeping an eye on. Below is the chart shared by Santiment that shows how the Supply Distribution has changed for these Chainlink investors over the past few months. As is visible in the graph, the Chainlink wallets with 100,000 LINK or more have witnessed a rise in the indicator during the last couple of months. This suggests that the population of big-money investors on the network has grown. More specifically, the Supply Distribution of the LINK whales has increased by 8.2% over the last seven weeks, a notable figure. Interestingly, this inflow of large investors into the network has arrived while the cryptocurrency has followed an overall trend of sideways movement. Currently, there are 805 wallets holding at least 100,000 LINK, which is a new ATH. “Key stakeholders are showing bullishness toward the #16 market cap in crypto,” noted Santiment. It now remains to be seen whether the optimism from the LINK whales will end up reflecting on the cryptocurrency’s price. Related Reading: Dogecoin Must Hold This Level To Avoid Drop To $0.088, Analyst Says While Chainlink has witnessed a trend of accumulation, Bitcoin has observed distribution from its large hands instead. As analyst Ali Martinez has highlighted in another X post, the supply of the BTC whales registered a decline recently. From the chart, it’s apparent that the Bitcoin whales sold 18,447 BTC between the 18th and 21st of this month, worth approximately $1.41 billion. LINK Price At the time of writing, Chainlink is trading around $9.57, unchanged from one week ago. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
A new report from market expert Sam Daodu argues that several large-cap cryptocurrencies, including XRP, are still “undervalued” relative to the activity and infrastructure building underneath them. In Daodu’s view, the altcoin market hasn’t fully recovered from the drawdown that pushed crypto into bear territory—an environment where most major tokens have fallen much harder than Bitcoin (BTC) and have struggled to regain momentum. The Ethereum Puzzle The expert starts with Ethereum (ETH), pointing out an interesting disconnect; the price is down, yet the network’s usage remains strong. Ethereum is trading about 57% below its August 2025 all-time high of $4,946. But he stresses that on-chain fundamentals don’t line up with that level of weakness. Related Reading: XRP Channel Pattern Points To $5, Says Korean Analyst Ethereum, he says, holds roughly $43 billion in total value locked (TVL) across its decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols—more than any other blockchain—while also maintaining the largest pool of DeFi capital, the widest stablecoin base, and some of the deepest trading infrastructure in the ecosystem. Daodu links part of that valuation gap to an upgrade schedule aimed at improving performance. He points to Glamsterdam, targeted for mid-2026, as a potential catalyst that could address the longstanding complaints that have kept ETH below current peaks despite record on-chain activity. CLARITY Act Momentum For XRP XRP is another centerpiece of the report, and Daodu’s case is built on the idea that the ledger is seeing increased activity even as price consolidation continues. He says XRP has spent much of 2026 trading between $1.30 and $1.50, sitting around 62% below its July 2025 high of $3.65. While that looks like a stagnant range on charts, Daodu argues the XRP Ledger has been “busier than ever.” He points to daily transactions hitting 3 million in March, driven by new trading pools, stablecoins, and real-world assets (RWAs) moving onto the chain. Then came a regulatory turning point. On May 14, the US Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act in a 15-9 vote. He describes the bill as one that would permanently classify XRP as a commodity under federal law, with the next step being consideration on the Senate floor. Daodu emphasizes that while the joint SEC-CFTC ruling already gave XRP commodity status at the agency level, an agency ruling can be reversed by a future administration—whereas legislation is harder to undo. That difference, he says, is part of why institutions continue accumulating XRP even as the token’s price has struggled. He adds that Standard Chartered expects the bill could bring an estimated $4 billion to $8 billion into spot XRP ETFs and push the token to at least $8. Solana’s ‘Price Vs Fundamentals’ Case Solana’s section follows a similar price vs. fundamentals theme. Daodu says SOL peaked at $295 in January 2025, then slid nearly 70% to $85. Even with that pressure on the chart, he argues the network’s trajectory remains constructive. He highlights the March 17, 2026 SEC-CFTC guidance that classified XRP and Ethereum as digital commodities, noting that the guidance also covered Solana and cleared the security label that had kept large funds cautious. On top of that regulatory backdrop, Daodu points to developer growth and usage metrics. Solana reportedly added more than 11,500 new developers in the first nine months of 2025, second only to Ethereum. Why Chainlink Looks Cheap Chainlink, Daodu suggests, may be undervalued precisely because it doesn’t always dominate mainstream retail conversations. He says LINK trades around $9.50, down 82% from its May 2021 all-time high of $52.99. But he argues that Chainlink’s role in the market is far bigger than its spot price reaction. Daodu points to Chainlink’s price feeds and its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), describing how these tools underpin the real-world asset (RWA) economy. Related Reading: The Bitcoin Billion-Dollar Dump: Here’s Why The BTC Price Keeps Crashing He also points to scale and volume. Daodu says Chainlink secures over $75 billion in total value across crypto, and that CCIP alone moves around $18 billion in transfer volume every month. Analysts, he adds, project the oracle sector could grow tenfold by 2030, and that if the prediction holds, Chainlink would be positioned as the backbone of that expansion. Featured image created with OpenArt; chart from TradingView.com
Chainlink continues to strengthen its dominance within the oracle economy as adoption of its Smart Value Recapture (SVR) solution accelerates across the DeFi ecosystem. With decentralized finance increasingly reliant on accurate, secure, and tamper-resistant data feeds, Chainlink remains at the center of this infrastructure layer, powering a growing share of on-chain applications. Why SVR Could Become A Major Revenue Layer For Chainlink Since Chainlink launched, Smart Value Recapture (SVR) has rapidly become the dominant solution for capturing oracle-related Maximal Extractable Value (MEV), now commanding an estimated 99% market share. Crypto analyst Zach Rynes highlighted on X that the system has been widely adopted by the largest DeFi lending platforms such as Aave, Compound, Venus, and various Morpho markets. Related Reading: Chainlink Co-Founder Nazarov Reveals 3 Trends He’s Watching Closely At its core, the SVR exclusively recaptures the non-toxic liquidation MEV of value that would have leaked to Layer 1 validators and searchers during DeFi loan liquidations. The scale of adoption is already producing significant results. SVR has reportedly generated approximately $18.7 million in revenue, distributing approximately $12 million back to integrated DeFi protocols while contributing $6.7 million to Chainlink, including support for LINK buybacks. Meanwhile, the system efficiency is reflected in its consistent recapture rate of about 85%, meaning SVR recaptures the $85 from every $100 liquidation bonus made available. It has already processed over $700 million in liquidation volume on Aave alone, without generating bad debt, even during periods of heightened volatility such as October 10. Additionally, it also features the largest and most decentralized ecosystem of independent searchers, with over 115 independent liquidators. Competition ensures solvency and drives up recapture rates. SVR marks a major shift in the Chainlink business model, enabling it to directly monetize the total value it secures across DeFi applications, in addition to monetizing the integration, usage, and maintenance of oracle services by blockchains via the Scale program. In this context, SVR is a powerful new economic engine that reinforces the Chainlink position at the center of decentralized finance. Chainlink’s Staking Model Awaits A Clear Regulatory Framework The Chainlink staking ecosystem could be approaching a pivotal moment as the crypto industry moves closer to greater regulatory clarity. According to analyst LinkBoi, the current Clarity Art is limiting Chainlink’s ability to expand staking pool rewards distribution within the network. Related Reading: Chainlink Whales Buy 32.9 Million LINK As Holdings Hit Record High Currently, stakers are receiving incentives primarily through allocated token emissions rather than a share of protocol-generated revenue. The staking pool expansion requires permission to pay stakers a portion of the protocol’s revenue. However, if the Clarity Act provides the necessary legal clarity, it would unlock a major opportunity for the LINK token to be considered as a security. The staking pool could expand significantly, bringing the full LINK tokenomics ecosystem into effect. Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview.com
Chainlink has lost the $10 mark as the market faces a retrace that could extend further. Leaving holders navigate a price structure that offers little immediate comfort. The decline is real — but a CryptoOnchain report has identified a development in the network data from earlier this month that reframes what the current price weakness is actually occurring against. Related Reading: HYPE Accumulation Intensifies As Whale-Linked Position Surpasses $100M Between May 9 and 10, Chainlink’s active address count spiked to over 280,000. A figure that requires context to feel as alarming as it is. The network’s historical baseline sits at approximately 3,000 daily active addresses. The spike represents a 93-fold increase from that baseline, compressed into a two-day window, with no precedent in Chainlink’s recent on-chain history. Something significant moved through the network at a scale that dwarfs routine activity by nearly two orders of magnitude. In traditional on-chain analysis, a spike of that magnitude triggers an immediate assumption: retail panic, large token movements toward exchanges, and preparation for liquidation. The historical pattern for anomalies of this scale is distribution. Big holders and retail participants are rushing toward the exit simultaneously. Creating the kind of exchange inflow pressure that translates directly into selling pressure on the price. That assumption does not hold here. The CryptoOnchain report cross-references the network surge with exchange flow data — and what it finds is the opposite of what the conventional framework would predict. Exploding Network Activity Alongside Shrinking Exchange Supply The CryptoOnchain analysis turns to Binance flow data to resolve the contradiction the network spike created — and what it finds dismantles the sell-off interpretation entirely. Despite the most extreme active address anomaly in Chainlink’s recent history, Binance’s LINK reserve has been declining steadily for the past 14 days, falling from 86.3 million to 85.8 million tokens. The 7-day average netflow remains heavily negative, with outflows consistently outpacing inflows throughout the entire period. Chainlink Structural Divergence | Source: CryptoQuant The timing is the detail that matters most. Market participants were actively withdrawing LINK from Binance at precisely the moment the network was experiencing its most intense activity. If the 280,000 active address spike represented panic selling or distribution, the exchange flow data would show the opposite — coins moving onto exchanges rather than away from them. The data shows coins leaving. That divergence between network intensity and exchange behavior points toward a structural interpretation rather than a sentiment one. Tokens migrating toward self-custody or being locked in smart contracts — potentially connected to CCIP adoption and the expanding use of Chainlink’s cross-chain infrastructure — would produce exactly this signature: explosive on-chain movement alongside declining exchange reserves and persistently negative netflow. The supply implication follows directly. LINK leaving exchanges and entering self-custody or smart contract lock-up reduces the liquid float available for immediate sale. That reduction, occurring alongside genuine network utility growth rather than speculative activity, creates the kind of supply tightness that historically precedes structural price appreciation — not immediately, but as the available sell-side inventory shrinks against whatever demand arrives next. Related Reading: XRP’s Big Buyers Returned In April But Left In May: Capital Inflows Data Explains The Shift Chainlink Struggles Below Key Resistance: Bulls Defend Critical Support Chainlink continues to trade under pressure after losing the psychological $10 level, with the daily chart showing a market still trapped inside a broader bearish structure despite signs of stabilization. LINK is currently trading near $9.60 after rejecting sharply from the recent local high around $10.70, where sellers stepped in aggressively and prevented a breakout above the descending resistance zone that has capped price action since January. Chainlink consolidates below key level | Source: LINKUSDT chart on TradingView The chart shows LINK consolidating between roughly $8.80 and $10.00 for several weeks, forming a tightening range just above the 200-day moving average. That level near $9.20 is becoming increasingly important because it has acted as dynamic support throughout May. Bulls have repeatedly defended the area, preventing a deeper retracement back toward the February lows near $7.50. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s 2026 Market Structure Reveals A Problem Hidden Beneath ETF Growth At the same time, the 200-day exponential moving average continues trending downward above the current price, reinforcing the idea that the broader macro trend remains fragile despite the recent recovery attempt. Volume has also cooled notably compared to the capitulation phase seen in February, suggesting that the latest decline reflects exhaustion and consolidation rather than panic-driven selling. For bulls, reclaiming the $10.00–$10.70 region remains essential to shift momentum decisively back in favor of buyers. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
XRP is making its boldest move yet into mainstream finance as two of the biggest names in traditional finance are stepping deeper into crypto. The CME Group and Nasdaq have announced plans to introduce a new crypto index futures product, and XRP is included in the basket. The contract will give institutional investors regulated access to a range of digital assets through a single product, opening the door to the trillion-dollar Wall Street market. CME And Nasdaq To Launch XRP-Inclusive Crypto Index Futures In a landmark move, the CME Group and Nasdaq are set to launch the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index Futures on June 8, marking the first-ever market-cap-weighted crypto index futures contract. The single cash-settled product will give institutional investors regulated exposure to a basket of digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar. Related Reading: If You’re Holding XRP, This Pundit Says You Should See This Crypto expert Pumpius was among the few analysts to speak about the development on X, describing it as a turning point for XRP and the broader crypto market. He noted that XRP is now being integrated into Wall Street as traditional finance goes all-in on digital assets. For XRP holders in particular, Pumpius said the token is finally transitioning from a speculative asset to a core institutional holding. Adding more context to the recent development, market analyst Ripplexity said that crypto futures volume at CME has skyrocketed by 43% so far this year, reflecting just how high the demand is for regulated crypto products. He also said that the upcoming index futures contract will be settled using the Nasdaq CME Crypto Settlement Price Index, which already includes XRP. CME Moves To 24/7 Trading Ahead Of June Launch Crypto analyst SMQKE offered a broader view of the new milestone and its implications for the crypto industry. He described the CME Group as the world’s largest and most important derivatives exchange, noting that its partnership with Nasdaq could bring institutional capital into the altcoin market through a fully regulated channel. Related Reading: Market Analyst Outlines How The XRP Price Will Reach $300 And What Everyone Is Missing SMQKE also highlighted a major operational change happening before the June index launch. Starting May 29, the CME Group will reportedly shift its crypto futures and options trading to a 24/7 schedule, a move designed to match the round-the-clock nature of crypto markets. The analyst said that this will be a massive shift and a clear example of how fast the traditional finance sector is catching up to crypto technology. SMQKE also pointed out that XRP, Stellar, and Cardano are all ISO 20022-compliant tokens and that their inclusion in this derivatives product signals a deeper integration into mainstream finance. As the June 8 date approaches, market participants are still waiting on regulatory approval from the CFTC. According to SMQKE, the CME and Nasdaq partnership is likely to pave the way for further institutional adoption of digital assets and decentralized technologies. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
Crypto projects with more than $3 billion in total value locked have migrated their cross-chain infrastructure to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) following a $292 million exploit at KelpDAO, which heightened scrutiny of bridge security across decentralized finance. Chainlink confirmed the migration wave, saying four protocols, including KelpDAO, Solv Protocol, Re, and Tydro, had begun […]
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The cryptocurrency market has seen increased commentary about the imminence of an altcoin season over the past week, with the Chainlink price performance a major contributor to the conversation. The LINK token, which has had a rough ride this year, seems to have roared back to life over the last few days. Despite facing rejection around the $10 mark earlier in the week, the Chainlink price appears to have finally broken the psychological resistance after strong action on Friday, May 8th. A prominent crypto analytics firm has pinpointed potential catalysts behind LINK’s recent price resurgence. LINK Exchange Supply Drops By 10% Since Early April: Santiment In a recent post on the social media platform X, Santiment identified the drivers for Chainlink’s price to reach $10.48, its highest market value since January. According to the market intelligence firm, the price jump in the past day has pushed the LINK token into the top 15 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Related Reading: Bitcoin Faces Massive Long Liquidation Imbalance As $15 Billion Sits Below Price Santiment revealed that a spike in Chainlink mentions in social media discussions over the past week might have played a role in the altcoin’s price resurgence. The analytics firm noted that Chainlink’s social volume reached a three-month high during the week. Indeed, an increase in social media comments and volume can signal improving investor sentiment for a cryptocurrency. However, investors might want to watch for extreme levels of social commentary, which could signal a local top, as the market tends to move in the opposite direction of the crowd. Furthermore, Santiment highlighted the recent decline in the Chainlink supply on centralized exchanges as another catalyst for its price breakout. According to the latest on-chain data, approximately 13.5 million LINK tokens have flowed out of cryptocurrency exchanges in the past five weeks, bringing down the exchange supply by more than 10.5% since early April. Typically, increased outflows from cryptocurrency exchanges are considered a bullish indicator, which could signal fresh accumulation or a shift in investor holding strategy (as investors with long-term horizons often hold their assets in non-custodial wallets). Hence, the Chainlink price could return to higher levels if the exchange outflow trend continues. Chainlink Price Overview As of this writing, the price of LINK stands at around $10.38, reflecting a more than 5% surge in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the altcoin has been one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies in the past week. Data from CoinGecko shows that the Chainlink price is up by nearly 14% on the weekly timeframe. Related Reading: Samourai Wallet Founder Writes From Prison Asking Bitcoin Community For Help — Family Is Out Of Options Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
Chainlink’s biggest active holder cohort has sharply increased its LINK exposure over the past month, according to Santiment, which says the move could point to a tightening supply setup if broader market conditions stay supportive. The on-chain signal stands out because the buying took place while LINK traded in a relatively muted range rather than during an obvious breakout. Santiment said on May 7 that “ChainLink’s key stakeholders that hold between 100K-10M LINK have been aggressively accumulated over the past month.” The analytics firm added that “these whales & sharks have accumulated 32.93M more coins (a +7.7% increase) in just one month.” Why Santiment Is Focused On Chainlink Whales The key point in Santiment’s post is not just that large holders are buying, but that this specific wallet band may say more than a generic whale metric. As Santiment put it, “What makes this accumulation particularly significant is who is doing the buying. Wallets in the 100K–10M LINK range represent ChainLink’s most active and committed cohort. They are large enough to move meaningful capital, but not so large as to be exchange-controlled custodial accounts.” Related Reading: Chainlink Exchange Outflows Hit 970,430 LINK, Largest Of 2026 If the buying were concentrated in obvious exchange-linked addresses, the signal would be harder to read as a directional bet. Santiment instead presents this cohort as a group of discretionary large holders whose behavior can reveal conviction at moments when price action alone looks inconclusive. The chart shared by Santiment shows the balance held by 100,000 to 10 million LINK wallets climbing steadily into early May, even as LINK itself remained near subdued levels. Santiment explicitly argued that the timing is the point. “Historically, when this specific tier accumulates aggressively, it tends to precede rather than react to price appreciation. Unlike retail buyers who typically chase momentum, these stakeholders absorb supply during periods of price suppression.” Related Reading: Chainlink Is Getting Cheaper And Whales Are Not Buying The Dip: Discount Or A Trap? The firm then tied that historical pattern directly to the current setup: “This is precisely what the chart shows happening across Q1 2026 while LINK traded sideways near multi-month lows.” That is a stronger interpretation than simply noting rising balances. Santiment is effectively arguing that the market has not yet fully reflected the accumulation visible on-chain. The Supply Squeeze Argument Santiment’s post goes further by framing the move as the early stage of a possible supply squeeze. “The on-chain picture this paints is one of a classic supply squeeze in early formation,” the firm wrote. “With 32.93M additional LINK now locked into strong hands and collective holdings from this cohort hitting an all-time high, the available liquid supply on exchanges faces growing pressure.” That is the clearest takeaway from the post. If more LINK is moving into wallets viewed as committed holders, and less of it is immediately available for sale, then fresh demand could have a larger price impact than it otherwise would. Santiment’s conclusion is conditional rather than absolute: “If Bitcoin and market conditions continue bullish momentum, the combination of reduced sell-side supply and already-elevated whale conviction could accelerate price discovery sharply to the upside.” At press time, LINK traded at $9.86. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The latest holder data from Santiment shows that crypto adoption is still increasing, even as prices are without a clear bullish trend across the market. Bitcoin is approaching a major wallet milestone, XRP has continued to grow its user base, and Ethereum is dominating the field by a wide margin. Numbers Reveal A Surge In Adoption New figures from on-chain analytics platform Santiment show that cryptocurrencies are witnessing intense adoption across the board. This data is particularly gotten from the holder count from Santiment, which looks at the number of addresses with non-empty balances. Of the bunch, Bitcoin, XRP, and Ethereum are posting numbers that are noteworthy. Related Reading: Here’s Why The Bitcoin And Ethereum Prices Have Been Rising And Falling Sharply Bitcoin’s holder count is now one of the clearest signs of adoption across the crypto industry. Santiment’s latest data shows Bitcoin is currently at about 59.08 million non-empty wallets, bringing the network close to the 60 million mark. This means Bitcoin has built one of the largest ownership bases in crypto despite several months of difficult price action and correction from its 2025 price peak. The timing of Bitcoin’s wallet growth is important because it is coming at the same time institutional demand is starting to improve again. Data from SoSoValue shows that Spot Bitcoin ETF flows witnessed positive flows in March and April, after four straight months of net outflows from late November 2025 through February 2026 that totaled about $4 billion. Santiment’s data places XRP’s non-empty wallet count at 7.8 million. That figure, when viewed in isolation, is somewhat modest against Bitcoin’s tally. However, when viewed in context, it reflects a network that has increased in adoption with unusual consistency over the past 18 months since it started trading in the US again. This growth is also notable because XRP has not had the kind of price performance that would usually be expected to accompany a rising holder base. A Broader Market In Expansion The Santiment snapshot is not limited to only Bitcoin and XRP, and it places the cryptocurrencies in context compared to the rest of the market. According to Santiment, Ethereum is nearing 190 million non-empty wallets for the first time in its history, putting it far ahead of every other large-cap crypto asset tracked in the dataset. Ethereum’s 189.5 million non-empty wallets is itself a headline number, one that places it at 3.2 times Bitcoin’s holder count. Related Reading: Analyst Says High XRP Price Targets Are Dangerous, Here’s Why XRP’s 7.8 million non-empty wallets place it below Dogecoin’s 8.25 million and Tether’s 13.61 million on Ethereum, but above USDC’s 6.76 million, Cardano’s 4.63 million, and Chainlink’s 870,720 non-empty wallets. These holder numbers show how far crypto adoption has grown. Research estimates that about 559 million people now own cryptocurrency in 2026, representing a 9.9% global adoption rate, with further growth expected when clearer regulations take shape in the US and other major jurisdictions. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
On-chain data shows Chainlink traders have made their largest amount of exchange withdrawals since December, a potential sign of accumulation. Chainlink Exchange Netflow Has Seen A Sharp Negative Spike As highlighted by on-chain analytics firm Santiment in an X post, a significant amount of Chainlink supply has left exchanges recently. The indicator of interest here is the “Exchange Flow Balance,” which measures, as its name suggests, the net amount of LINK flowing into or out of wallets connected to centralized exchanges. Related Reading: Solana Nears Triangle Apex: Is A 10% Breakout Move Coming? When the value of this metric is positive, it means exchange inflows are outweighing the outflows and a net amount of the asset is entering these platforms. As one of the main reasons why traders deposit to exchanges is for selling-related purposes, this kind of trend can have a bearish impact on the LINK price. On the other hand, the indicator being under the zero mark suggests outflows dominate the market. Such a trend can be a sign that investors are accumulating, which can naturally be bullish for the cryptocurrency. Now, here is a chart that shows how the daily Exchange Flow Balance has changed for Chainlink over the last few weeks: As displayed in the above graph, the Chainlink Exchange Flow Balance has been at negative levels for nearly all of April, suggesting that investors have been on a constant withdrawal spree. Recently, traders made a particularly high amount of outflows, with the Exchange Flow Balance observing a daily peak of 970,430 tokens (worth nearly $9 million), which is the highest value for the metric since December 2nd. What initially followed this spike in exchange withdrawals was a surge in the LINK price to the $9.58 mark, but soon, the trend interestingly reversed as the cryptocurrency saw a retrace. From the chart, it’s visible that the Chainlink Exchange Flow Balance has remained negative amid this drawdown, indicating that the bearish price action hasn’t caused enough panic selling to tip the market balance toward inflows. That said, that’s only the story so far. The metric could be monitored in the coming days to watch whether the net outflows continue or if deposits will make a return. Related Reading: Bitcoin Fear & Greed Turns Neutral For First Time Since January LINK isn’t the only altcoin that has seen a wave of exchange withdrawals recently. As Santiment has pointed out in another X post, XRP also observed one of its largest daily outflow spikes of 2026 last week. This massive withdrawal spree saw 34.94 million XRP (about $48.6 million) exit exchange-connected wallets. LINK Price Following its pullback since the weekend, Chainlink is returned to the $9.23 level. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com