Chainlink (LINK) hits 1-year price high above $20 — Here’s what to expect next

A surge in network activity and increased adoption throughout DeFi may have played a role in LINK rallying above $20.

Chainlink’s native token (LINK) showcased a 16% rally between Feb. 9 and Feb. 12 to trade at $20.85 a level not seen since January 2022. This has brought its market capitalization to $11.67 billion and overtakes Dogecoin (DOGE) to become the 10th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

LINK’s price rally is accompanied by increasing network activity and a rise in trading volume. Notably, the price still remains within the confines of an ascending parallel channel, hinting at the potential for more upside.

Chainlink network activity surges

Data from IntoTheBlock highlighted Chainlink network activity hitting a 22-month peak alongside an increase in active and new addresses.

Data from IntoTheBlock confirmed that active addresses had increased from around 2,800 on Jan. 25 to about 3,210 on Feb. 10. A similar uptick was noted in the number of new Chainlink addresses which rose from 808 to 1,020 over the same period.

Similar data from Santiment shows a surge in daily active addresses (DAA), which almost doubled from 2,801 on Jan. 25 to more than 5,560 on Feb. 12, marking a 97% increase.

On Feb. 1, Eigenpie announced the integration of Chainlink CCIP across Arbitrum and Ethereum.

Paxos also announced the adoption of Chainlink’s new PayPal USD price feed on Feb. 7. The DeFi-focused Umami DAO also recently integrated Chainlink Data Streams on Arbitrum.

Whale activity on exchanges raises eyebrows

Technical indicators and on-chain data may suggest that the LINK price is overextended and due for a pullback. Data from blockchain analytics platform SpotOnChain shows that a whale transferred 245,000 LINK worth $4.9 million on Binance.

The same whale with the wallet labeled “0x2a1” has taken a total of 495,057 LINK worth $7.5 million off the Binance crypto exchange at an average of $15.13 per token between Jan. 28 and Feb. 7, 2024.

Even though this wallet still holds 250,000 LINK valued at around $5 million, redistributing tokens and sending them to exchanges could signal an intent to sell at the current prices.

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On the other hand, LINK’s ascending channel could attract bullish technical traders. Since Jan. 26, LINK price action has painted a series of higher highs and higher lows leading to the formation of an ascending parallel channel on the daily chart.

This bullish technical formation points to the continuation of the uptrend as long as the price remains within the confines of the channel. This projects a rise in price toward the upper boundary of the channel which currently sits at $21. A decisive close above this could bring the price to $25.

Popular analyst Rekt Capital expects a potential restest of the support level at $19 before LINK resumes the uptrend.

$LINK

Small dip already underway

There’s scope for a bit more of a pullback to the black level for a retest#LINK #Crypto #Chainlink https://t.co/J7JEr0fhnY pic.twitter.com/Jsbb08KbOA

— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) February 13, 2024