- Whales quietly absorb 85 million LINK, pushing exchange reserves down 40% since early 2024.
- Retail activity remains flat, keeping Chainlink’s price locked near $13 despite strong accumulation.
The price of Chainlink (LINK) remains steady around $13 as whales continue to build up their holdings silently. This adds a fresh 85 million LINK tokens to their holdings. Despite a lack of retail activity, on-chain indicators suggest strong institutional interest. As revealed, this has kept the digital asset from slipping below key support.
Whales Quietly Stack Chainlink While Retail Remains Sidelined
According to CryptoQuant, whale activity around Chainlink has intensified over the past few months, particularly in the $12 to $15 price range. Marketcap data shows that Chainlink is trading at $13.38, currently down 3.39%, with a market capitalization of $9.07 billion.
It is worth noting that exchange netflows show a steady outflow of about 100,000 LINK per week. This signals that major players are not only holding but actively withdrawing their assets from trading platforms. Likewise, this behavior shows a strong conviction among these holders, even as regular investors remain largely inactive.
Per the update, one of the clearest signs of retail hesitation is the stagnant daily address activity. As revealed, this has hovered between 28,000 and 32,000. Still, transaction volume is also flat, averaging roughly 9,000 per day. The only notable spike occurred in March 2025, when retail deposits briefly increased by over 5 million LINK, but that surge quickly subsided.
Whales, on the other hand, have been steadily increasing their exchange withdrawals since late 2024. Previously, we reported that at one point, Chainlink whale transactions spiked by over 3,373%, indicating a surge in urgency to lock up assets. This has helped to reduce exchange reserves by around 40% year-to-date, creating a visible supply squeeze.
However, because retail buyers are not responding, prices have struggled to push beyond the $15 mark. Still, CNF reported that Henry Lord of Alts predicted that Chainlink could be on its way up to $30 after months of sliding prices.
Chainlink’s Breakout Hinges on Retail Spark or Whale Slowdown
Currently, Chainlink is caught between strong accumulation and weak market participation. While large holders have exhibited consistent buying behavior, their efforts have not yet resulted in a breakout. For the price to move decisively, either a fresh wave of retail engagement must arrive, or whale interest needs to soar.
It is worth noting that if the number of active wallets and transactions continues to rise alongside continued whale accumulation, the $15 resistance could be broken. However, if exchange withdrawal activity starts to drop and net flows turn positive again. This may eventually signal that the buying pressure has cooled. It could set the stage for a slide toward $10.
Until then, the crypto market is waiting. This is because just as the largest digital asset, Bitcoin, consolidated before its 2024 rally. Market participants believe that Chainlink may be in a similar phase. It may be building pressure beneath the surface while traders search for the next signal.
Meanwhile, the Chainlink ecosystem has taken some key steps lately, aimed at strengthening the project. For instance, as noted in our earlier report, Chainlink introduced ACE to reduce compliance hurdles and attract institutional capital more easily.
Additionally, CNF reported that WEMIX now utilizes Chainlink’s CCIP to enable direct USDC transfers from Ethereum, eliminating the need for wrapping or relying on centralized bridges.
