LINK Price Saves 170-Day Support, Reverses at Critical Level Despite Chainlink Product Update
What's Next for LINK After Bounce at Long-Term Support? | Credit: Hameem Sarwar
Key Takeaways
- The LINK price has increased since April 13, bouncing above a 170-day support area.
- On April 24, Chainlink published a product update for the first quarter of 2024.
- Is the LINK price bottom in place, or will a breakdown below this support happen?
Chainlink published a product update for the first quarter of 2024, noting several improvements. The main one is the release of the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to the general public.
Even though the LINK price has corrected since March, it bounced on April 13, saving its long-term support area. But, after a rejection, LINK trades at critical horizontal and diagonal support level. Can LINK bounce and save its bullish trend, or will a breakdown occur instead?
What is General Availability?
General availability (GA) means the CCIP is officially released and open for anyone to use. So, after extensive testing and improvements, the product is being launched to the public.
In CCIP’s case, developers, startups and companies can freely use it to transfer tokens and messages between different blockchains. The release is an important step forward and marks the final seal of approval that CCIP is stable and ready for widespread use.
Companies that announced the integration of CCIP are Aave, WEMADE and Metis.
Besides CCIP, the biggest highlight was the launch of Transporter, a cross-chain bridge which debuted in early April, giving lock and unlock functionality for cross-chain transfers. As a result of these updates, the team noted a 900% growth in the number of transactions and 4,000% growth in volume when comparing Q4 in 2023 to Q1 in 2024.
The team also announced that over the coming months, it will work to add support for more blockchains and tokens while also adding advanced functionalities as part of CCIP’s roadmap.
Important Developments in Chainlink’s Product Update
Other recent developments include partnerships with Paxos and PayPal for Data Feeds, deployment on Avalanche for Data Streams, the launch of Proof-of-Reserves (PoR) for ARKB’s Bitcoin ETF reserves and the integration of Chainlink Automation on the Base mainnet. The next steps involve expanding support for various blockchains, enhancing product features, and improving user experience.
Chainlink also collaborated with major financial institutions to hasten the adoption of blockchain technology for tokenizing assets. The team believes is the only platform that solves three main issues with the tokenization of assets:
- Data and Compliance: Chainlink securely brings real-world data onto blockchain, crucial for compliant tokenized assets. It covers market pricing, identity, AML/KYC, and proof of reserves.
- Liquidity: The CCIP facilitates secure connectivity across various public and private blockchains, essential for liquidity and market access.
- Synchronization: Once tokenized assets move across chains, Chainlink ensures data remains synchronized and up-to-date regardless of the chain, combining off-chain data connectivity with cross-chain interoperability.
Finally, the first quarter of 2024 saw an increase in developer activity for Chainlink, with over 1,100 developers building on various testnets.
LINK Bounces at Support but Suffers Rejection
The daily time frame shows that the LINK price bounced at the $1.30 horizontal support area on April 13, creating a long lower wick (green icon). The horizontal support area has existed for 170 days.
After the bounce, LINK reached a high of $16.03 before falling. The price created a long upper wick, failing to sustain its upward movement.
The rejection coincided with a horizontal resistance area created by a cluster of on-chain resistance. The area exists between $15.57 and $19.22. The In/Out of the Money indicator shows there is $102 million in volume from addresses that bought between $15.57 and $19.22, which likely contributed to the rejection.
Additionally, there is 137 million in volume between $14.29 and $15.57. The majority of these purchases are underwater, though the price still lingers in the lower portion of this range.
So, if the LINK price closes below the $13.30 support area, it can quickly fall to $10, where the next batch of on-chain purchases exists.
Is the LINK Correction Over?
The daily time frame analysis shows that LINK has completed a five-wave increase (white) starting in June 2023. The upward movement lasted for 275 days. Then, the price corrected 47% over only 34 days.
While the decrease reached the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level, which is a common level for a correction to end, it was brief relative to the 275-day increase.
Nevertheless, technical indicators in the daily time frame show some bullish signs. More specifically, the MACD has made a bullish cross (green icon) and the daily RSI broke out from its resistance trend line (green).
The six-hour time frame shows the importance of the current support at $14.50. A horizontal support area and the support trend line of an ascending parallel channel create this support level.
Beside the price action, the support has implications for whether the upward movement is impulsive or not. Since corrections are often contained inside parallel channels, a breakdown from it will confirm the bounce is corrective. Then, LINK will reach a lower low near $11.50.
On the other hand, a bounce and eventual breakout from the channel will mean the increase is impulsive. In that case, the LINK price will be in the midst of a bullish formation taking it above $20 (yellow).
As a result, the reaction to the $14.50 support will likely determine the future trend’s direction.
LINK Price Uncertain Despite Positive Product Update
The product update for the first quarter of 2024 is undoubtedly positive. However, despite a notable bounce, the price action is not confirmed bullish yet. Rather, the reaction to the $14.50 confluence of short-term supports will likely determine if the next move is an increase or a breakdown.
There is long-term support between $11 and $13, and a breakdown below this area can catalyze a significant plunge below $10.
Chainlink Price Eyeing $20 After Cross-Chain Transporter Bridge Unveiled
