Chainlink (LINK) broke above the $9.04 resistance level on August 15, ending a consolidation phase that had been in place since June. The token climbed as high as $9.73 before settling around $9.45–$9.56, marking a clear shift in its short-term price structure.
The move came alongside a 123% jump in trading volume, which hit $1 billion. Derivatives open interest rose 16% to $694.39 million, pointing to new capital entering the market rather than just existing positions being reshuffled.
LINK’s market cap rose to around $7.15 billion as a result of the price move.
On-chain data from Santiment showed 246 whale transactions worth over $100,000 each — the highest count since March. Wallets holding between 100,000 and 10 million LINK now control 46.57% of total supply, equal to roughly 466 million tokens.
🔗 Live Chart: https://t.co/5wlYZ9x9jz
🐳 Chainlink whale activity has seen a significant spike. The network saw 246 separate $100K+ LINK transactions in 24 hours, its highest daily level in 5 months.
📈 This coincides with the fact that wallets holding 100K to 10M LINK now… pic.twitter.com/1EACyuTF1O
— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) August 12, 2026
The whale accumulation picked up as LINK approached and then crossed above $9.04, rather than earlier in the recovery. That timing adds weight to the breakout.
The Relative Strength Index climbed to 71.40, while Chaikin Money Flow sat at 0.18, both pointing to buying pressure. The RSI above 70 does suggest the rally is stretched short-term, raising the possibility of a brief pause.
The Bitwise Chainlink ETF recorded around $1.5 million in inflows this week. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley confirmed the figure, saying investors are showing stronger interest in Chainlink’s role in on-chain finance.
Chainlink connects blockchain applications to real-world data, including market prices and financial systems. Horsley noted growing awareness among investors of blockchain infrastructure’s role in traditional finance.
The ETF inflows reflect rising demand for regulated ways to get LINK exposure without holding the token directly.
$LINK Has been outperforming and has broken above the $8.9 horizontal.
Looks quite good and yet another coin that shows strength after the Standard Chartered report. Whether that's the cause or not, these may become a self fulfilling prophecy at this point, as more people catch… https://t.co/PnBBk5pTVb pic.twitter.com/vLGm3HKsH4
— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) August 16, 2026
One analyst has set a price target of $20 for LINK. The near-term focus is on whether LINK can break and hold above $10, with $10.50 and $11 as the next targets beyond that.
If LINK fails to hold above $9.04, the support zone between $8.49 and $8.58 becomes the next level to watch.
LINK is currently trading around $9.56, up 15% over the past seven days.
The post Chainlink (LINK) Price: Breakout Above $9 Backed by Whale Accumulation and ETF Inflows appeared first on CoinCentral.
