Ethereum News Today: Chainlink Bridges Traditional, DeFi Worlds, Boosting $100 Outlook

Chainlink (LINK) has entered a bullish phase, with analysts highlighting a potential ascent to $100 amid technical indicators and strategic partnerships. The token broke above the $21–$23 resistance zone, stabilizing at $23.42 with a 24-hour trading volume of $863 million and a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, according to The Currency Analytics report. Key support levels at $21, $18.50, and $15.70 have been critical in maintaining this momentum, with technical analysis reinforcing the uptrend. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 60.31 and a bullish MACD crossover (2.13774 above 1.24042) suggest continued buying pressure, the report adds. Fibonacci retracement levels project short-term targets at $27.50–$31.50, with long-term goals of $51–$53 and even $100 if bullish conditions persist.

Analysts like Drew and Crypto Seth emphasize the significance of this breakout. Drew projects a 340% rally to triple-digit levels, citing a strong weekly chart pattern and institutional interest, according to a Brave New Coin analysis. Crypto Seth highlights the resilience of LINK's support retests, viewing pullbacks as accumulation opportunities rather than weakness, the analysis notes. On-chain data also supports optimism, with 674,000 LINK tokens acquired by large wallets in August alone, worth $15.3 million, according to the Coin Republic report. The Bitwise Chainlink ETF filing, the first U.S. spot ETF for the asset, further signals growing institutional adoption, that report adds.

A strategic partnership with S&P Global Ratings has added momentum. S&P's Stablecoin Stability Assessments (SSAs), now available on-chain via Chainlink's DataLink, provide real-time risk evaluations for major stablecoins like USDT and USDC, according to a CoinCentral report. This collaboration enables DeFi protocols to integrate S&P's 1–5 stability ratings directly into smart contracts, enhancing transparency and decision-making, as an InvestingNews article explains. The initiative, launched on Ethereum's Base Layer 2, aligns with the stablecoin market's growth to $301 billion in October 2025, the article notes. S&P's Chief DeFi Officer Chuck Mounts noted the partnership's role in bridging traditional finance with decentralized ecosystems.

Market fundamentals further bolster the bullish case. Open interest in LINK perpetual contracts stands at $1.66 billion, with an OI-weighted funding rate of 0.0085% indicating balanced leverage, the earlier report noted. Chainlink's dominance in oracle technology, coupled with partnerships like ANZ and SWIFT, underscores its infrastructure role in tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs). Analysts argue that if LINK maintains above $21 and institutional adoption accelerates, the $100 target becomes increasingly plausible.

The broader altcoin market's potential peak between November 2025 and January 2026, combined with regulatory clarity under the GENIUS Act, positions Chainlink to benefit from capital rotation beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, the Coin Republic analysis adds. While Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin in 2025 year-to-date gains, Chainlink's unique utility in DeFi and RWA tokenization suggests it could outpace both in the long term.