Key Takeaways
Chainlink’s LINK token has had a strong few months. More interest in its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) has seen the crypto’s value shoot up.
In January 2024, a series of partnerships helped keep investors attention focused on LINK, while March saw eight major players, or whales, buy more than $16 million worth of Chainlink.
On March 12, 2024, LINK was worth about $20.60.
Chainlink did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But what is Chainlink (LINK)? How does Chainlink work? Let’s see what we can find out, and also take a look at some of the Chainlink Price Predictions that were being made as of March 12, 2024.
Let’s examine some of the Chainlink price predictions being made on March 12. It is crucial to bear in mind that price forecasts, particularly for a potentially volatile asset like cryptocurrency, often turn out to be inaccurate. Additionally, please remember that many long-term crypto price predictions are generated using algorithms, which means they can change at any time.
Also, keep in mind that many longer-term crypto price predictions are made using an algorithm, which means that they can change at a moment’s notice.
2024 | 2025 | 2030 | |
---|---|---|---|
Prediction #1 | $28.36 | $72.92 | $182.29 |
Prediction #2 | $51.19 | $71.66 | $174.04 |
Prediction #3 | $42.08 | $50.49 | $149.29 |
In terms of a short-term Chainlink price prediction, CoinCodex said LINK would get to $21.17 by March 17 and could then climb to $24.14 by April 11. The site’s technical analysis was bullish, with 26 indicators sending positive signals and just five making bearish ones.
CaptainAltCoin said LINK would reach $28.36 in December. Bitnation , meanwhile, had it reach $51.19 this year. DigitalCoinPrice was also bullish, saying Chainlink would reach $42.08 in 2024.
Bitnation said Chainlink would reach $71.66 in 2025, while DigitalCoinPrice argued for it to trade at $50.49 then. CaptainAltCoin said LINK would stand at $72.92 next year.
Moving on to a more long-term Chainlink price prediction, DigitalCoinPrice said the token would reach $149.29 in 2030. Bitnation said Chainlink would be worth $174.04 that year. CaptainAltCoin had a LINK price prediction that saw it trade at $182.29 at the start of the next decade.
Google’s Gemini AI platform gave the following price prediction for Chainlink on March 12. Please remember that the exact price prediction of an asset or cryptocurrency in the future is nearly impossible to achieve. Additionally, artificial intelligence price predictions are predicated on past performances and are in no way entirely accurate.
Long-Term (Next Few Years):
Important to Consider:
Additional Factors:
Chainlink went on an upturn in late 2023. This upturn came after the Affine NFT and DeFi platforms adopted by the Affine NFT and DeFi platforms. In a blog post, Affine’s core developer Tarik Moon said: “We chose Chainlink CCIP because of its unparalleled security and the seamless experience it offers. CCIP aligns perfectly with our mission at Affine to make DeFi yield strategies accessible to all by bringing enhanced utility and value to our users.”
In 2024, Chainlink announced that it was partnering with tokenization platform Decubate , market infrastructure network DTCC and blockchain organization Protocol Labs .
March saw some more activity, as whales made eight purchases totalling 831,160 LINK, worth around $16.72 million, in the space of just two days from Binance.
Let’s now take a look at some of the highlights and lowlights of the Chainlink price history . While past performance should never be taken as an indicator of future results, knowing what the token has done can help give us some very useful context when it comes to either making or interpreting a Chainlink price prediction.
Chainlink first came onto the open market in 2017, when it was worth about $0.20. It rose above the dollar in 2019, and it spent time above $10 in 2020, closing the year at around $11.46.
In early 2021, the crypto market thrived and LINK, boosted by a new whitepaper, reached an all-time high of $52.88 on 10 May. After that, it slid back down as the market grew sluggish in the summer and, despite some upward movement from August, it closed the year at $19.59, an annual rise of more than 70%.
Despite the platform’s best efforts, things were nowhere near as good for LINK in 2022. Chainlink started well, breaking past $20 in early January, but then it fell throughout the year.
LINK dropped below $10 in May after the collapse of the Terra (LUNA) blockchain and fell to a low of $5.30 on 18 June. With November’s collapse of the FTX (FTT) exchange coming as a bitter blow for the whole crypto market, LINK continued to struggle.
Not even the introduction of staking could stop Chainlink from closing the year at $5.56, a year-on-year loss of about 65%.
In 2023, things initially got better. On 18 April, a buoyant market helped Chainlink reach $8.72. After that, though, it was downhill, and the slump became a crash in June.
The news that Crypto.com (CRO) was suspending its US institutional operations in the wake of the SEC suing Binance (BNB) and Coinbase saw LINK fall to $4.98, its lowest price in nearly three years.
After that, though, it recovered. In the middle of July, the market bloomed following the news that a court had ruled Ripple’s XRP was not a security if it was being sold on exchanges. LINK responded well, reaching $8.38 on July 21. It then entered a downturn, falling below $6 in the wake of Elon Musk’s SpaceX selling millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC).
There was an upturn that started in mid-September and peaked at $17.27 on December 9. LINK closed 2023 at $14.95. This represented a yearly increase of nearly 170%.
So far, 2024 has been relatively positive. Although LINK dropped to $12.65 on January 8, it recovered to $16.53 on January 20. By January 30, it was worth about $15.05.
A bullish market helped it climb some more and, by March 12 2024, Chainlink was worth about $20.60.
At that time, there were about 587 million LINK in circulation out of a total supply of one billion. This gave the token a market cap of around $12 billion, making it the 14th-largest crypto by that metric.
The price of LINK reached a high of $22.50 on March 11, coming from a low of $12.50 on January 8, increasing by 81% since the start of the year. Before this rise, LINK had been stagnating at around $15 since November.
Chainlink’s price started a new bull phase when it broke out above $9 on October 9 last year. Judging from the wave structure, it looks like it could have completed its first five-wave move of this new major bull phase.
We have seen some signs of struggle that could have indicated the end of this move, but a downturn is yet to take place. This is why we could see short-term price growth to around $25 before a downturn.
If we see a sharp decline LINK could fall to $12. After this move ends, however, Chainlink could start a new bull cycle, ultimately matching its all-time high.
It is hard to tell. The token has performed well in recent months, but there is the potential for a fall.
Chainlink has a long way to go before it reaches anything like the heights it enjoyed in early 2021. With LINK being the sort of token that, broadly speaking, follows the market, it may be some time before it does that again. That said, the CCIP has been well-received.
That isn’t to say that it won’t go up, but patience and realism may well be the key.
As ever with crypto, you will need to make sure you do your research before deciding whether or not to invest in LINK.
No one can tell right now. While the Chainlink crypto price predictions are largely positive, price predictions have a well-earned reputation for being wrong. Keep in mind, too, that prices can, and do, go down as well as up.
Before you decide whether or not to invest in Chainlink, you will have to do your research, not only on LINK, but on other, related, coins and tokens such as Ethereum.
Either way, you will also need to make sure that you never invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis founded Chainlink. Both men are graduates of New York University. The pair co-founded the SmartContract smart contract platform in 2014, before going on to set up Chainlink in 2017.
As of March 12, 2024, the wallet with the most Chainlink held just over 4% of the LINK supply.
According to the CoinCarp website, the five wallets with the most Chainlink are
Supply and Distribution | Figures |
---|---|
Maximum supply | 1,000,000,000 |
Circulating supply (as of March 12, 2024) | 587,099,970 (58.71% of the maximum supply) |
Holder distribution | Top 10 wallets own 31.69% of maximum supply as of March 12, 2024 |
In its technical documentation or whitepaper , Chainlink says it is designed to help smart contracts, computer programs that automatically execute once certain conditions are met, work better.
It says: “We foresee an increasingly expansive role for oracle networks, one in which they complement and enhance existing blockchains by providing fast, reliable, and confidentiality-preserving universal connectivity and off-chain computation for smart contracts better.”
One of the key pieces of technology that helps many blockchains achieve their goals is the smart contract, a computer program that automatically executes once certain conditions are met.
Smart contracts need to access real-world data quickly and efficiently if they are going to work properly. Chainlink is a platform that helps them do just that.
Based on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, Chainlink is designed to bring information to smart contracts so they can be reliable.
The platform is supported by its native token, known by the ticker handle LINK.
The Chainlink network uses computers called oracles. These are designed to bring information onto the platform and, by extension, onto smart contracts.
Every oracle on Chainlink has a reputation score. They are marked for performance and accuracy. The idea is to incentivize oracles to be accurate and reliable.
Chainlink boasts of being able to operate across blockchains, meaning it can provide smart contracts for programs that aren’t on Ethereum.
The LINK token rewards oracle owners. It can be staked, or set aside, in return for rewards. People can buy, sell, and trade it on exchanges.
Because Chainlink is based on the Ethereum blockchain, LINK is a token, not a coin. You might see references to such things as a Chainlink coin price prediction, but these things are wrong.
Here is a chart for Chainlink (LINK) Google search volume for the past 90 days. This represents how many times the term “Chainlink (LINK)” has been Googled over the previous 90 days.
It could, but not for some time. DigitalCoinPrice thinks LINK will reach three figures in 2029 and CaptainAltCoin says it will get there by 2030. Meanwhile, Bitnation argues that the crypto will get to $100 by 2027.
Keep in mind that Chainlink has never traded at $100. Its highest ever price, $52.88, came in May 2021.
LINK rewards people who operate oracles on the Chainlink crypto platform. It can also be staked in return for rewards. People can buy, sell, and trade it on exchanges.
Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor, trader, or regular crypto users should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.