Institutions Bet Big on Chainlink as On-Chain Signs Hint at Market Tipping Point

Chainlink (LINK), a decentralized oracle network enabling smart contracts to interact with real-world data sources, has seen a significant surge in recent months but now faces signs of on-chain exhaustion. As of September 6, 2025, the price of LINK stands at $21.98, down by 1.81% in the last 24 hours and 5.98% in the past week. Despite the recent dip, the token has risen by over 129% in the last year, outperforming many DeFi peers. Its market cap is currently valued at $14.89 billion, while its fully diluted valuation is $21.95 billion, representing a significant portion of its max supply of 1 billion tokens [1].

Recent developments have highlighted Chainlink’s growing institutional relevance. On August 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a partnership with Chainlink and Pyth to integrate real-time macroeconomic data on-chain, marking a pivotal step toward mainstream adoption. This initiative aims to bridge public data infrastructure with blockchain applications, a move that has already pushed the price of LINK up over 5% in the days following the announcement [2]. Additionally, Chainlink’s expanding ecosystem includes partnerships with major entities such as SBI Group, one of Japan’s largest financial conglomerates, which has committed to advancing tokenized assets and cross-border payments using Chainlink’s infrastructure [3].

Chainlink’s on-chain activity has also shown signs of tightening supply. As of late August 2025, the exchange supply of LINK had fallen to a multi-year low, raising speculation that institutional demand is outpacing retail selling. This trend has coincided with the filing of a spot Chainlink ETF by Bitwise Asset Management, the first of its kind in the United States. The proposed ETF is designed to track the price of LINK, potentially opening the token to a broader pool of investors [4]. The filing has been viewed by analysts as a sign of growing legitimacy for altcoins in institutional markets.

However, with rapid price appreciation comes the risk of a correction. Several technical and on-chain indicators now suggest that the LINK price may be reaching a critical inflection point. A recent report from BeInCrypto highlights signs of exhaustion in the token’s price trend after a year-long rally of over 100%. The report cites declining exchange reserves, increased buyer dominance, and a narrowing range of price volatility as potential triggers for a reversal [5]. In addition, the token’s 24-hour trading volume has dropped by 54.27% since late August, indicating a potential slowdown in speculative activity [1].

Despite these concerns, Chainlink remains a key player in the DeFi space. The token ranks among the top three DeFi assets by yearly performance and has recently passed a critical 7-day support level, maintaining its position as a leading DeFi token [1]. Moreover, the Chainlink Reserve, the network’s dedicated treasury, recently added 42,298 LINK tokens, raising its total holdings to $4.8 million. This move is seen as a strategic effort to support the network’s long-term growth [6].

Source:

[1] Chainlink Price, LINK Price, Live Charts, and Marketcap (https://www.coinbase.com/price/chainlink)

[2] The Defiant - US Government Taps Chainlink and Pyth to Publish Economic Data Onchain (https://thedefiant.ventures/)

[4] CoinDesk - Bitwise Files to Launch a Spot Chainlink ETF, LINK Bounces 5% (https://www.coindesk.com/)

[5] BeInCrypto - Chainlink (LINK) Price Uptrend Likely To Reverse as Charts Hint at Exhaustion (https://beincrypto.com/)