The mightily impressive Chainlink has succumbed to a 13.2% move to the downside this morning following its astonishing surge to a new all-time high of $14.49 since the turn of the month.
The LINK token now has a market cap of $4.4 billion, making it the sixth largest cryptocurrency in circulation behind Bitcoin Cash in fifth.
In the past five months LINK has made a sensational 712.57% move to the upside after bouncing from a low of $1.63 in March.
Much of the recent rally has been attributed to the rise in popularity of the decentralised finance (DeFi) sector, which Chainlink falls under.
The project aims to bridge the gap between blockchain technology and mainstream applications using its decentralised oracle network.
As retail and institutional investors continue to flock to DeFi, trade volume on both LINK’s USD and BTC trading pairs have naturally surged.
Over the past 24-hours there has been $1.4 billion traded across all LINK trading pairs, which is three times higher than its daily volume on July 25.
While a pullback from such a ferocious rally is expected, the fact that LINK has decoupled from Bitcoin and Ethereum indicates continuation to the upside is likely over the coming weeks and months.
Levels of support remain at both $12.07 and $10.26 but what’s more likely is a retest of the local high at $14.47.
Much of the upcoming price action on lower time frames will depend on the trajectory of Bitcoin, as a major sell-off across larger market cap coins could trickle down to altcoins like LINK, as investors will be forced to liquidate assets in order to cut losses.
However, if Bitcoin can break above and close this week’s candle above $12,000 it would pave the way for LINK to form a new all-time high just as it did following the 19% sell-off on August 2.
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