Chainlink Bridges TradFi and DeFi as LINK Gears for ETF Breakthrough

Chainlink’s native token, LINK, has seen significant developments in late 2025, with market participants closely watching its trajectory as it approaches potential price inflection points. As of early September 2025, the price of LINK stands at $22.46, having increased by approximately 0.54% in the last 24 hours. Over the past year, the token has surged by 113.03%, outpacing the broader DeFi category’s average return of 101% [1]. The token’s all-time high remains at $52.99, reached in May 2021, with a current drawdown of 58% from that level. Analysts and market watchers have highlighted $30 as a critical support level, with technical indicators and recent on-chain activity suggesting increasing accumulation pressure [2].

A key driver of optimism for LINK has been the network’s expanding utility and strategic partnerships. In August 2025, Chainlink’s Total Value Secured (TVS) surpassed $95 billion across 452 protocols, marking a milestone in the ecosystem’s growth. This figure reflects the cumulative economic value secured by Chainlink oracles, which power critical functions in decentralized finance (DeFi), institutional finance, and cross-chain infrastructure [3]. The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) recently partnered with Chainlink to bring official macroeconomic data onchain, including real GDP, PCE Price Index, and final sales to private domestic purchasers. This integration is expected to enhance the adoption of onchain financial products by providing real-time, tamper-proof data feeds across ten major blockchains [4].

In addition to government partnerships, Chainlink has expanded its enterprise-grade offerings. The platform recently achieved ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 1 compliance, reinforcing its position as a secure and trusted oracle infrastructure provider. These certifications are expected to accelerate adoption across both DeFi and traditional financial institutions. The network has also partnered with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to bring high-quality foreign exchange and precious metals data onchain. This collaboration enables lower-gas, faster price updates, supporting advanced financial products in the tokenized asset space [5]. Meanwhile, Aave Labs announced Horizon, an institutional platform that uses Chainlink’s SmartData suite to automate onchain asset valuation and reserve verification.

On the token economics front, Chainlink has continued to strengthen its treasury strategy. The Chainlink Reserve, launched in late August 2025, added 42,298 LINK tokens in a single week, raising its holdings to $4.8 million. By the end of August, the reserve had accumulated over 193,000 LINK tokens, valued at $4.4 million. This strategic accumulation is part of a broader effort to stabilize the token’s supply and reinforce its long-term value. The reserve also supports Payment Abstraction, which allows enterprises to pay for Chainlink services in alternative assets that are automatically converted to LINK, further increasing demand for the token [6].

Looking ahead, Chainlink is preparing for new onchain financial products, including a proposed spot ETF. Bitwise Asset Management filed an S-1 registration with the U.S. SEC for a Chainlink ETF, marking the first such effort for a single-token crypto ETF in the U.S. This move could potentially expand institutional and retail access to LINK and further drive demand. While the SEC has yet to approve the product, the filing itself is seen as a positive signal for broader acceptance of tokenized assets in traditional finance [7].

As of September 2025, LINK’s circulating supply stands at 678 million out of a max supply of 1 billion, with a current market cap of $15.22 billion. Over the past week, social media activity around the token surged by 1304%, with community sentiment remaining overwhelmingly positive at 84%. The increased interest is attributed to both onchain developments and real-world use cases, such as the recent launch of Ondo Global Markets, which provides tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs onchain via Chainlink infrastructure [8]. With these momentum drivers in place, analysts are closely watching for a potential breakout in the $24.5–$24.85 range, which could trigger a new wave of buying interest and reinvigorate the broader crypto market.

Source: [1] Chainlink Price, LINK Price, Live Charts, and Marketcap (https://www.coinbase.com/price/chainlink) [2] LINK Targets Breakout as Exchange Supply Hits Multi-Year Low (https://www.beincrypto.com) [3] August 2025 Recap: Chainlink Secures $95B, Brings U.S. Macroeconomic Data Onchain, Adds 193K LINK To Reserve (https://chainlinktoday.com/august-2025-recap-chainlink-secures-95b-brings-u-s-macroeconomic-data-onchain-adds-193k-link-to-reserve/) [4] U.S. Department Of Commerce And Chainlink Bring Government Macroeconomic Data Onchain (https://chainlinktoday.com) [5] Chainlink, ICE Collaboration Brings High-Quality Forex And Precious Metals Data Onchain (https://chainlinktoday.com) [6] Chainlink Adds 44K LINK To Reserve Which Now Holds 109K LINK (https://chainlinktoday.com) [7] Bitwise Files to Launch a Spot Chainlink ETF, LINK Bounces 5% (https://www.coindesk.com) [8] Ondo Global Markets Bring 100+ Tokenized U.S. Stocks And ETFs Onchain With Chainlink (https://chainlinktoday.com)