Chainlink (LINK), the world’s 11th-largest cryptocurrency, recently reached its 22-month high, hitting $18 for the first time since April 3, 2023. Amidst this, it has been observed that over 19 million LINK tokens, worth around $341 million, were unlocked from three non-circulating supply contracts, capturing everyone’s attention.
LINK’s 19 million tokens unlock
Recently, SpotOnChain, an on-chain analytics firm, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that these 19 million LINK tokens were circulated into the market. According to the post, out of these 19 million LINK tokens, 15.95 million, worth around $287 million, were deposited on Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The remaining 3.05 million LINK tokens, worth around $54.3 million, moved to the Multisig address.
However, since August 2022, a total of 106 million LINK has been unlocked, with 88.95 million LINK being sent to Binance at an average price of $9.06, totaling around $805 million. Currently, there are still 412.5 million LINK tokens, worth around $7.35 billion, left across 24 contracts.
This significant $7.35 billion worth of LINK tokens across 24 contracts highlights that they might still be in non-circulation. Additionally, these contracts could be mechanisms through which certain portions of LINK tokens are restricted from regular circulation, often used for various purposes such as team vesting, partnerships, or other strategic allocations.
Moreover, these 24 mentioned contracts may have their own rules, conditions, and even timelines for unlocking into circulation. However, it is common in blockchain projects to have multiple contracts to hold, manage, and control the non-circulated tokens, just like LINK.
LINK price and its upcoming move
Despite these significant token unlocks, LINK still managed to gain over 25% upside momentum in the last 7 days, reaching its 22-month high. However, according to SpotOnChain, LINK may experience a slight dip in its price in the upcoming days due to the recent unlocking of over 19 million tokens.
With this significant token unlock, LINK is currently trading near $17.7, and in the last 24 hours, it experienced a slight downside momentum. Looking at LINK over a longer period, it gained over 25% upside momentum in the last 7 days and over 23% in the last 30 days.
According to expert technical analysis, considering the recent token unlock and concerns from SpotOnChain, if LINK experiences some bearish movement, we may see LINK trade between $14 and $17 in the coming days. LINK has been consolidating in this range for the last 3 months and is currently at the top.
