Whale wallets accumulating Chainlink (LINK) raise suspicions

Whales have been accumulating Chainlink (LINK) over the last five days, buying from Binance and sending it to self-custody wallets.

Whales have been accumulating Chainlink (LINK) over the last five days, buying from Binance and sending it to self-custody wallets. The tokens were sent to new wallets, with 30 of the addresses tied to Whale Holdings. The addresses now hold a total of 1.37 million LINK, currently valued at $34.1 million. The biggest wallet holds 151K LINK, while the smallest holds around 5K LINK.

The idea behind the accumulation remains unclear, especially considering that LINK is used for both speculative trading and as a utility token. Aside from being used to earn passive income, movement to self-custody wallets usually signifies a potential interaction with DeFi. However, there is an indication that the activity may be related to the current dip in the market.

Whales’ LINK withdrawals spark speculation

Despite being held in high regard by its investors, the token is still trading within a range-bound zone. Other uses may include staking, especially with liquid staking now providing additional rewards to users. Some of the withdrawn LINKs have been sent to the stake.link priority pool.

This isn’t the first heightened whale accumulation around the token, as it has always been the push that has triggered the surge. Other whale activity has also led to traders making short-term gains, like one trader who recently made $200k. The Whale uses LINK to quickly make profits, buying during price dips and selling during gains to make profits. The whale quickly shifts between USDT and LINK, using the asset’s deep liquidity and decentralized approach to earn profits from trades in days or hours.

While most whales leverage spot trading for their activities, the total open interest in the asset has dropped from its 2024 peak. Long positions are now 75%, indicating a possible downward move over the next few days. LINK has been consolidating in the higher price region after inching close to $30.

Chainlink focuses on partnerships, financial services

On the other hand, Chainlink has continued to set its sights on its product as a utility, shifting focus away from its token. The platform ranks at 6 on Github, making it one of the most active projects in the space. Over the last few months, the project has been able to add more partnerships to its CCIP cross-chain service. After replacing the Ronin bridge, the project has taken over the bridging of Neiro on Ethereum and ApusCoin. Although the tokens are small, it still signals a nice shift for the token.

Meanwhile, over the last few years, whales with 100k LINK have continued to accumulate more tokens. Retailers are now selling, changing the profile of the token. With the asset still unlocked, shifts in its supply are happening in the wider market. CCIP now opens links to more than 13 blockchains, with a focus on replacing other bridges to assert its dominance in the cross-chain transfer market.