Chainlink may be quietly setting the stage for its next move, as on-chain data shows that large holders continue to increase their positions despite a lack of retail participation.
According to a July 4 analysis published on CryptoQuant by contributor Axel Adler, Chainlink (LINK) wallets holding between 100,000 and 1 million LINK, often categorized as whale addresses, have now accumulated more than 85 million tokens. Since late 2022, this is the highest amount of whale-held supply.
In contrast, retail holders have remained largely inactive, creating what Adler calls a “standoff” between deep-pocketed investors and smaller participants. This quiet accumulation phase has not yet translated into significant price movement.
At press time, LINK is trading at $13.48, down 2.4% in the past 24 hours and about 7% lower over the past month. Over the last seven days, it has moved within a tight range between $12.76 and $13.96.
Chainlink’s long-term value may be supported by recent developments. On June 24, Chainlink and Mastercard announced a major partnership that will allow more than 3 billion cardholders to buy cryptocurrencies on-chain. Through the partnership, Chainlink is positioned as a major infrastructure supplier for safe, legal cryptocurrency payments.
Furthermore, on June 30, the project was chosen as the xStocks Alliance’s official oracle provider. This initiative brings more than 50 tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds to decentralized finance by using Chainlink’s infrastructure to power real-time pricing data.
On the technical side, there is no obvious breakout in sight, with LINK moving sideways in a consolidation phase. The narrowing of the Bollinger Bands suggests that a more significant price move might be on the horizon.
The price is currently trading just below the Bollinger Bands midline, with $14.11 acting as short-term resistance and $13.08 as midline support. The relative strength index is near 50, indicating neutral momentum, and the MACD is slightly bullish.
LINK is displaying some short-term strength, currently trading slightly above both its 10-day and 20-day moving averages. However, it remains below longer-term averages such as the 100-day and 200-day, indicating that the market is still hesitant.
LINK may move toward $15 if it breaks above $14.10 with strong volume. On the other hand, it might fall towards he $12.50 level if it falls below $13.00. For now, the market appears to be waiting to see if retail traders or whales will determine the next move.