Chainlink’s LINK token has surged 38% since late January, propelling it to a 24-month peak, with its market cap reaching $10 billion. This came as crypto whales accumulated over $50 million worth of tokens within the past several days.

Separately, data from Glassnode charts indicates that approximately $75 million worth of LINK has flowed onto cryptocurrency trading platforms since February 1st, resulting in a surge in its exchange balance to approximately 120 million tokens.

Whale Moves Millions in LINK Tokens

A mysterious whale has recently been accumulating Chainlink (LINK), according to Lookonchain. The unidentified entity, potentially an institutional player, has withdrawn 2.7 million LINK tokens from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance using 49 new wallets.

Whales/institutions continue to accumulate $LINK!

This mysterious whale/institution withdrew 2,745,815 $LINK($49.9M) from #Binance via 49 new wallets.

Whale”0x2A19″ withdrew 494,957 $LINK($9M) from #Binance in the past 10 days.https://t.co/QoP2waErBShttps://t.co/iaPHa9f0XB pic.twitter.com/GUW1S33NHf

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 7, 2024

One of the whale’s wallets has transferred over $9 million worth of LINK tokens from the exchange within the past ten days. The Lookonchain’s public database reveals that these wallets hold varying amounts of LINK, ranging from $230,000 to $3.5 million each.

Meanwhile, there has been a notable increase in the activity of previously dormant wallets, leading to a record spike in the “Age Consumed” metric. Santiment suggests that the sudden circulation of old LINK tokens has contributed to the recent price surge.

The rise in LINK’s price has coincided with a significant uptick in its open interest (OI) in the derivatives market. As of February 6, the total value of outstanding derivative contracts for LINK reached a record high of $592.29 million.

Moreover, LINK’s funding rate remains positive, indicating bullish market sentiment and a higher demand for long positions. Traders increasingly leverage their positions to go long with LINK’s open interest surge.

While this strategy can potentially amplify profits in a rising market, it also poses a heightened risk of liquidation in a potential downturn.

Chainlink Experiences Increased Adoption

Amid these market dynamics, there’s been a significant increase in the adoption of Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) technology for tokenizing real-world assets (RWA).

Last December, the blockchain network announced its intention to bridge the gap between traditional finance and blockchain technology through RWA, highlighting that the RWA sector will represent a $16 trillion business opportunity by 2030.

Consequently, the network has actively pursued partnerships with various traditional firms, including the Society for Worldwide Interbank Transfers (SWIFT), South Korean gaming giant Wemade, and the New Zealand Banking Group. Additionally, it has achieved notable integrations with blockchain projects such as Base and Circle’s USDC stablecoin.