Cryptocurrency Chainlink Has Soared 50% In A Week, Yet Whales Keep Piling On: What You Should Know

Chainlink (LINK), the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is mostly concentrated in the hands of the top 1% of investors, according to Glassnode Insights, a market data aggregator.

What Happened: Glassnode data indicates that 81% of LINK, not with cryptocurrency exchanges or locked away in smart contracts, is stowed away in 125 wallets.

Link Whales — large holders of the cryptocurrency — have reportedly been doubling down on their investments even as the coin surged 46% over the past week.

Comparatively, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the top two cryptocurrencies by market cap, returned 5.02% and 21.94% over a seven-day period leading up to press time.

On Friday, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC closed 9.63% lower at $39.34, and Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETHE closed 4.75% lower at $14.05.

The appetite for LINK has not lessened even after the protocol’s parent company sold some of the tokens they owned and the circulating supply ratcheted up by over 50 million units or 14%, as per Glassnode.

LINK traded 3.37% lower at $21.53 at press-time. The token reached its all-time high of $23.61 on Monday.

Why It Matters: Taking into account tokens held in smart contracts and on exchanges, it appears that 82.7% of LINK is contained in just 100 wallets — less than 0.03% of LINK-holding addresses, as per Etherscan data, Cointelegraph reported.

“The continued concentration of supply suggests that, even with the available supply increasing, LINK's top holders are still bullish on the token, and are continuing to acquire more,” said Glassnode Growth Strategist Liesl Eichholz, as per Cointelegraph.

LINK is not the only altcoin that has surged as BTC takes a breather. Others that have soared include SushiSwap (SUSHI), Polkadot (DOT), and Cardano (ADA).

Photo courtesy: Chainlink