Crypto
Chainlink Whale Activity Explodes, Faces Selling Pressure
Chainlink’s (LINK) recent buyback has boosted market sentiment, but rising exchange reserves hint at continued selling pressure and put LINK’s price at risk.
BLOCKINSIDERLoadingChainlink’s (LINK) recent buyback has boosted market sentiment, but rising exchange reserves hint at continued selling pressure and put LINK’s price at risk.
Amid this ongoing market uncertainty, Chainlink (LINK) witnessed a massive spike in whale activity, pushing it to the highest level since November 19, 2025. Moreover, market sentiment also appears to be turning bullish, as intraday traders favor long bets and Chainlink’s recent buyback strengthens the asset’s long-term outlook.
At press time, LINK was up 1.10% over the past 24 hours and trades at $12.76. Despite the price recovery, the asset’s trading volume declined by over 42% to $396.27 million during the same period. This falling volume, when the price shows signs of recovery, suggests a lack of buying pressure, and the current recovery may not sustain.
Despite this lack of participation, recent activity surrounding Chainlink appears to be turning bullish for LINK. Recently, a well-followed crypto analyst shared a post on X stating that Chainlink had purchased another $1 million worth of LINK tokens through CowSwap.
According to the post, the purchase is intended to support retail investors and reaffirm Chainlink’s long-term buyback commitment.
Alongside this buyback, Santiment’s recent report is raising concerns. According to a post shared on X,
“Chainlink whale activity just exploded to a 2026 high. LINK recorded 681 transactions worth $100K or more in one day, the most since November 19th, 2025. Big holders are moving at a pace we have not seen all year.”
The report further noted that whale transactions do not reveal whether buyers or sellers dominate. However, the year-high whale movement shows that major capital is paying very close attention to LINK.
However, data from CryptoQuant shows massive selling pressure between October 7, 2026, and October 8, 2026, when Chainlink whale activity surged. As per data, LINK reserves across exchanges increased notably from 124.40 million to 130.41 million tokens during this period, representing a rise of 6.01 million LINK.
In crypto, growing exchange reserves typically suggest selling pressure, as it shows that long-term holders are moving their assets from their wallets to exchanges, and it’s a bearish signal.
Meanwhile, new LINK addresses averaged 1,249 per day over the four weeks ending October 6, 2026, compared with 1,225 per day over the four weeks ending September 1, 2026, representing a rise of nearly 2%, Santiment reported. It also noted that the recent 24% upside move in LINK’s price was not necessarily driven by new wallets.
As per the TradingView daily chart, LINK’s short-term bias appears bullish despite a massive spike in exchange reserves, which suggests potential selling pressure.
The factors supporting the bullish outlook are the recent price rebound from $12, a key support level, and the price trading above the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which suggests broader bullish sentiment.
Given the current market conditions, if LINK’s price remains above the $12 level, the bullish outlook will remain intact. In this scenario, the asset could see further price gains in the coming days. However, a breakdown below $12 could turn market sentiment negative, potentially leading to further downside in the coming days.
From a derivatives perspective, traders seem to be eyeing a price recovery. According to CoinGlass, $12.52 on the lower side and $13.04 on the upper side are the two major liquidation levels. Traders have built $3.48 million worth of long positions and $1.38 million worth of short positions around these levels, suggesting a potential bullish bias.
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