beincrypto.com
All eyes have been on Bitcoin over the weekend as the asset returned to its 2023 resistance level just above $30,000. However, Chainlink’s LINK has skyrocketed to its highest level since May 2022, but what could be driving momentum?
Chainlink (LINK) has surged almost 20% in less than 24 hours. The oracle network asset cranked from just over $9 on Sunday to reach an 18-month high of $10.86 during Monday morning Asian trading.
Chainlink LINK Token on a Tear
It is the highest price LINK has traded for since May 2022 when the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem collapsed. Moreover, LINK is the best-performing crypto asset on the market at the moment.
The big move has resulted in a whopping 44% gain for the Chainlink token over the past seven days.
Blockchain analytics feed Lookonchain flagged a number of LINK whale transactions reporting on the pump on Oct. 22. It reported that the rise in LINK was related to Korean crypto exchanges.
“We noticed that during the LINK price increase, Korean exchanges Bithumb and Upbit accumulated a total of 945,000 LINK ($9 million).”
“The rise in LINK price has a lot to do with Bithumb and Upbit,” it added.
It also did an analysis of LINK holders noting that exchanges hold 202.6 million tokens worth around $1.9 billion and representing 20.26% of the total supply.
On Oct 23, ecosystem ambassador ChainLinkGod reminded followers that Chainlink is “working with the largest financial institutions in the world on making tokenized real-world assets a reality,”
These include the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citigroup, and Lloyds Banking Group.
In a separate post, he added that Chainlink Staking v0.2 is launching later this year. This builds upon the functionality of existing LINK staking mechanisms.
Read more: Real World Asset (RWA) Backed Tokens Explained
Crypto trader and analyst Johnny observed that LINK/BTC was breaking out of a 1,100+ day downtrend while LINK/USD was breaking out of a 520+ day range.
“All signs lead to this having a face-melting pump over the next few months.”
Other Altcoin Movers
Chainlink is not the only asset outperforming Bitcoin today. DeFi protocol token AAVE is also on the move notching up 11% over the past day to top $80 during Asian trading on Monday.
However, it has returned to 2023 resistance levels that were last hit and rejected in mid-July.
Fantom (FTM) has gained 13% on the day to reach $0.225. This is its highest price since the mid-August market dump.
Polygon (MATIC) is up 8.6% to reach a ten-week high of $0.623 at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Aptos (APT) has gained 9% over the past 24 hours to reach $6.18, its highest since mid-August.