Chainlink rose to $8.74 as whale transfers hit a five-month high and large holders expanded their combined stake to 46.57% of LINK's supply. Derivatives activity climbed alongside the move, with traders eyeing a run toward $10 if LINK clears near-term resistance.
Chainlink climbed 4% to $8.74, extending its weekly gain to roughly 7% and putting LINK among the market's top performers. The token held above its $8 support zone, and large investors returned in force: the network logged a minimum of 246 transfers worth more than 100,000 LINK within 24 hours, the biggest burst of whale activity in five months, according to Santiment data.
Whale holdings expand past 46% of supply
Wallets holding between 100,000 and 10 million LINK now control 466.31 million tokens, or 46.57% of Chainlink's total supply. These holders have a long history of tracking LINK price swings closely, which makes their renewed buying a closely watched signal. Chainlink continues to build out CCIP, tokenized assets, stablecoins, institutional data, and cross-chain services, positioning LINK as core oracle infrastructure for on-chain finance.
Technical setup points toward $9 and $10
LINK traded at $8.764 at the time of writing, up 3% on the four-hour chart, inside a rising channel after bouncing off support near $8.20. The relative strength index sat at 69, close to overbought territory — a reading that signals strong momentum but also raises the odds of a temporary pullback. The Chaikin Money Flow indicator climbed to 0.24, pointing to strong capital inflows.
A sustained move above $9.00 would open the path to $9.50, with the psychological $10.00 level in view if volume stays supportive. However, rejection near $9.00 could send Chainlink back toward $8.50, where the ascending channel's lower boundary near $8.30 offers additional support. A break below $8.30 would undermine the bullish structure and could expose LINK to the $8.00 support area.
Derivatives traders add exposure
Chainlink's derivatives market strengthened alongside the spot move. Trading volume climbed 52.33% to $524.77 million. Open interest rose 13.21% to $540.34 million over the same period. The data shows net inflows into outstanding futures contracts, meaning traders stepped up bets on the token. Rising volume and open interest together often point to increased market interest and stronger conviction among derivatives traders.
Source: CoinGape
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