Institutional investors have recently acquired over $30 million worth of Chainlink (LINK) tokens.

This significant investment highlights the increasing adoption and trust in Chainlink’s technology across various financial sectors.

Increased Supply Stalls LINK Price Despite Institutional Backing

According to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, 54 new wallets withdrew 2.08 million LINK tokens, valued at $30.28 million, from Binance over the past week. This indicates substantial interest from institutional investors, likely driven by Chainlink’s increasing utility in financial services and blockchain interoperability.

One key driver fueling this interest is Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). This protocol offers a straightforward interface for decentralized applications (dApps) and Web3 entrepreneurs, securely addressing their cross-chain needs.

Read more: What Is Chainlink (LINK)?

By enabling the transfer of data, tokens, or a combination of both, CCIP supports smart contracts and externally owned accounts. This facilitates seamless interactions across various blockchains.

Chainlink’s CCIP now supports nine major blockchains. These nine blockchains are Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, BNB Chain, Ethereum, Kroma, Optimism, Polygon, and WEMIX.

This expansion has been pivotal in attracting institutional attention, as it enhances the utility and reach of Chainlink’s services. For instance, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) completed the Smart NAV pilot earlier in May. 

This pilot involved ten market participants using Chainlink’s CCIP to integrate on-chain data into various blockchain applications. By leveraging Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network, the pilot ensured the secure and efficient transmission of net asset value (NAV) data, a crucial metric for mutual funds.

Additionally, Chainlink’s partnerships with several banking institutions have further cemented its reputation. Institutions like Citi, BNP Paribas, Lloyds Bank, and Deutsche Bank have also shown interest in Chainlink’s offerings.

Analysts Predict Bull Market for Chainlink Despite Current Challenges

Despite these advancements, Chainlink’s price has yet to reflect the same upward trajectory. Currently, LINK trades at $14.41, a 72.6% decrease from its all-time high of $52.70 in May 2021. 

Analysts attribute this to the increased circulating supply of LINK tokens. In May 2021, the circulating supply was 425 million tokens, which has since risen to 608 million as of June 29, 2024.

This significant rise in supply, without a proportional increase in demand, has led to an oversupply in the market. Eventually, it contributes to the token’s price stagnation.

However, market analysts maintain a positive long-term outlook for LINK. Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe noted a recurring pattern in LINK’s price movements, predicting an imminent bull market phase.

Read more: How To Buy Chainlink (LINK) and Everything You Need To Know

“LINK has been seeing the same pattern over and over again. First six months downwards. Second six months bull market. We’re in the second six-month part and are slowly grinding upwards. Good times ahead,” van de Poppe stated.

The XRP price continues to remain suppressed under the heat of the Ripple vs. the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) legal battle. This suppressed price action has continued to discourage investors when its comes to the altcoin. However, not everyone has succumbed to the bearish pressure, as crypto analyst RLinda believes that the XRP price could be attempting a decoupling that could lead to a price breakout from here.

XRP Price Decoupling Could Trigger Price

Crypto analyst RLinda has forecasted a bullish picture for the XRP price where the altcoin could completely break out of its sluggish movement. The analysis which has now spanned a number of a days flows through XRP’s performance over the last year and how it has suffered crashes even when others in the market were reaching new all-time highs.

Related Reading

While the coin continues to be bogged down by the Ripple vs. SEC battle, crypto analyst RLinda believes that the XRP price could be reaching a possible decoupling. She explains that this is happening not just technically but fundamentally as well.

A possible decoupling is bullish for the XRP price, given that it would be the start of a major price rally. Using the 1-Week chart, the crypto analyst highlights some technical developments that could be important to this possible decoupling.

The first of these is that XRP is still testing the “Wedge resistance with the aim of breaking it.” Also, RLinda points out that volatility is decreasing as the consolidation is continuing at this point. However, this consolidation could be the reason that the price begins another rally.

As for where the price could go from here, the crypto analyst points out that it could possibly rally as high as $0.6265 and even reach $0.73 by the time it is done. However, XRP must hold the support level at $0.4637 while breaking the resistances being mounting at $0.4962 and $0.5720.

Factors Holding Price Down

While XRP price continues to be one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the market, a number of factors have suppressed. The major one is the lawsuit mentioned above. Even though Ripple has scored multiple victories against the regulator during this time, the fact that the lawsuit is yet to be officially over continues to present a major hurdle.

Related Reading

In her analysis, RLinda points to these issues as being behind the price not performing well. However, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has said that he expects the lawsuit and settlement to be complete by the end of this summer. This puts it sometime before September.

If this happens, then it would mark a pivotal point for the turnouts in the XRP price. “The Ripple vs. SEC case is a pivotal moment for cryptocurrency regulation, as a final victory would be a strong green sign for the entire cryptocurrency community amidst the SEC getting a number of restrictions on its activities lately due to overstepping its authority,” the analyst said.

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com