Why is the Whale Accumulating LINK?

A significant buyer recently expressed interest in ChainLink (LINK) cryptocurrencies, acquiring 601,949 coins.

Whale Buys LINK Coins

In the last 10 days, a notable whale entered the cryptocurrency market. On Jan. 18, this investor made a significant transaction on one of their wallets, acquiring LINK coins valued at $931,034.

Another wallet in their portfolio added $905,821 in coins, and a third address purchased coins worth $916,268. Tracking addresses:

1. 0x5c782ee50459eed90622ffb8ae290bdaf0af9b35
2. 0xf8e591934c17a91135a6834a194ee1507c447f0b
3. 0xd500cf9f2a8dac9cb60d74fccdaef4754f685c13

Significantly, the whale conducted its transactions on the Uniswap V3 decentralized exchange, utilizing the USD Coin (USDC) trading pair.

One of the whale transactions. Source: Etherscan

Spotonchain analysts observe that all three wallets belong to the same whale. Collectively, they hold 601,949 LINK, which, at the exchange rate at the time of purchase, were valued at $8.195 million. The average purchase price stands at $14.81.

Why has the coin sparked interest?

Simultaneously, the growth of ChainLink wallets is not consistently active. However, a noticeable trend emerges wherein this indicator tends to increase during price declines, although not uniformly.

As an illustration, on Jan. 18, 2023, the count of active addresses surged to 70,468. During that period, the coin was valued at approximately $7. Several such pronounced spikes are observed throughout the year, aligning with the broader pattern of the cryptocurrency market transitioning in and out of accumulation phases.

Change in the number of ChainLink active wallets. Source: glassnode

Nevertheless, the data suggests that the count of active wallets has remained relatively consistent, comparable to the levels observed in 2022.

Spotonchain’s data indicates a decline in ChainLink’s trading volume. Notably, on Jan. 18, during a significant whale purchase, the volume plummeted to $590 million, coinciding with a price drop to $14.313. Over the last 7 days, this decreasing volume trend has persisted despite an increase in the coin’s value.

LINK price and volume changes over 14 days. Source: Spotonchain

The coin’s recent surge in interest could be attributed, in part, to a recent announcement by the company. On Jan. 16, ChainLink revealed its integration with Circle. This integration facilitates cross-chain transfers using USDC, now accessible to users.

Another factor contributing to the increase in active wallets might be the staking of the crypto. For instance, platforms like stake.link offer LINK staking with a reward of 8.78%. It’s important to note that this reward includes locked coins, scheduled to be released to the market by Mar. 7, 2024.

Terms for LINK staking. Source: