Chainlink moves $264 million in LINK tokens to Binance after recent unlock

Blockchain analytical platform Spot On Chain reported that Chainlink unlocked 21 million LINK tokens, worth approximately $300 million, on June 21 from its non-circulating supply. This move raised Chainlink’s circulating supply by 3.57% to 608 million tokens, sparking speculation about a potential sell-off and its possible effects on the asset’s price.

Also Read: Chainlink (LINK) Integrates New Services for Six Blockchains

Previously, Chainlink had released 19 million LINK tokens to the market in February. Still, the Oracle platform has more future unlocks scheduled as it currently holds 391.5 million LINK (worth $5.4 billion) locked in 24 non-circulating supply addresses.

18.25 million Chainlink tokens moved to Binance

Following the latest unlock, 18.25 million LINK, representing 87% of the unlocked tokens, were transferred to Binance, the largest crypto trading platform by trading volume. This transfer, worth about $264 million, is seen as a bearish signal, as such moves often indicate a holder’s intent to sell.

Meanwhile, the remaining 2.25 million LINK tokens were moved to the multisig wallet 0xD50f, which holds over 6 million LINK tokens valued at $82.28 million. Arkham Intelligence labels the address as Gnosis Safe Proxy. It has been active for over two years and is primarily used to move LINK from one multisig wallet to another.

107 million LINK have been sold via Binance since August 2022 (Source – Spotonchain)

Spot On Chain noted that these transfer activities are consistent with Chainlink’s token unlock processes. Since August 2022, the platform has regularly transferred LINK tokens to Binance, moving 107.7 million LINK tokens at an average price of $9.89, totaling over $1 billion.

LINK falls by 4%

CoinMarketCap data suggests that the recent unlock negatively impacted LINK’s price during the past day, dropping by around 4% to a month low of $13.58. This decline continues a price rut that has seen the LINK token fall by around 12% on the year-to-date metric despite traditional financial institutions’ increased adoption of the Chainlink protocol.

Also Read: Chainlink (LINK) Rallies After Launching Research with Top Finance Industry Bodies

However, market analysts argue otherwise, claiming that Chainlink’s price has always appeared “generally well-maintained post-unlocks.” Notably, crypto investor ARiHBHARi explained that the recent unlock had little impact on the price because it caused “only $1.30 dilution.” Another LINK investor, Dan Gaines, added :

“LINK has been consolidating for the past several months. Same thing happened at $5-7 and they diluted three times. What happened? $22 happened. Next narrative please.”

Chainlink’s LINK Token Price Performance (Source: Tradingview)

Chainlink has significantly benefited from the growing real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market, with its Oracle data playing a crucial role in RWA trading. Major financial institutions like Franklin Templeton and BlackRock have shown interest in RWAs, suggesting further adoption opportunities for the platform. As of May 30, the total value of transactions enabled by Chainlink price feeds surpassed $12 trillion.