Chainlink (LINK) is trading around $9.49 after a 1.31% gain in the past 24 hours. The token has a 24-hour trading volume of $254 million and a market cap of $7.1 billion.
LINK broke out of consolidation about a week ago and held above $8.10. It climbed as high as $9.70 before cooling and settling near current levels.
The token is now forming a bullish pennant on the price chart. This pattern typically appears when price consolidates after a strong rally, with buyers pausing while sellers remain in control.
Crypto analyst Quinten flagged the formation, pointing out that a breakout above the pennant’s resistance line could trigger another upward move. A breakout supported by high trading volume would strengthen the case for LINK reaching $10.
Chainlink Spot ETFs recorded net inflows for two consecutive days. On August 17, inflows hit $2.07 million, following $1.47 million the week before, according to SoSoValue data.
Bitwise drove much of this activity. Its Chainlink ETF bought 171,870 LINK from Coinbase and Wintermute over six days. Those purchases were worth $1.708 million. The ETF now holds 3.092 million LINK, valued at around $30 million.
Spot netflow also dropped to -$1.4 million, meaning more LINK left exchanges than entered. That kind of outflow has historically supported price gains.
Analyst Michaël van de Poppe commented on LINK’s price action, saying the move could be large. He noted that LINK is breaking above key moving averages on higher timeframes and showing bullish divergences, suggesting it may finally be ending a four-year downtrend.
The significance of this move on $LINK might be enormous.
It's breaking above the MA's on this higher timeframe and there are massive bullish divergences.
This might indicate that it's finally ending a 4-year long downtrend. pic.twitter.com/PZyLvL94iG
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) August 16, 2026
LINK-denominated open interest climbed to nearly 29 million LINK, surpassing levels seen before the October 10 liquidation crash. Dollar-denominated open interest sits at $279 million, still well below the pre-crash peak of $555 million.
Funding rates remain positive, showing that traders are leaning long. The previous open interest high was 34 million LINK, set in August 2025.
Technical indicators also point upward. The Positive Directional Index rose to 33, the ADX climbed to 30, and the Aroon Up sits at 78. LINK needs to hold above $9 for the bullish setup to remain valid.
The post Chainlink (LINK) Price: Institutions Are Loading Up on LINK — Here’s What the Data Shows appeared first on CoinCentral.
