Chainlink Leverage Surges as Standard Chartered Targets $200

Chainlink (LINK) Leverage Rebuilds Above Pre-Crash Levels as Standard Chartered Targets $200

Published 18 August 2026

Authors

By Giuseppe Ciccomascolo

Edited by Ryan James

LINK leverage has surpassed pre-crash levels as Standard Chartered targets $200 by 2030, but long-heavy positioning raises liquidation risks. | Credit: CCN.com

Chainlink’s derivatives market has rebuilt its leverage above levels recorded immediately before October’s liquidation crash, even as LINK’s spot price remains far below its previous valuation.

Coin-denominated open interest has risen to approximately 29 million LINK, surpassing its Oct. 9 level for the first time since the Oct. 10 liquidation cascade.

The recovery coincides with Standard Chartered initiating coverage of LINK and setting a staged price target of $200 by the end of 2030.

However, the bullish analyst note produced only a muted reaction in the spot market. LINK declined on the day the research was released, while derivatives traders increased their exposure.

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LINK Open Interest Returns Above Pre-Crash Level

Open interest measures the number of outstanding derivatives contracts that have not yet been closed or settled. Its return to roughly 29 million LINK indicates that traders have rebuilt substantial leveraged exposure following October’s market-wide deleveraging.

The increase is more striking when measured in tokens than in dollars. Dollar-denominated open interest currently stands at approximately $279 million, around half the pre-crash total of roughly $555 million.

$LINK’s leverage is back above where it stood going into the crash. The price isn’t.

Standard Chartered opened coverage last week with a staged $200-by-2030 target. LINK’s spot reaction was muted, down on the day the note landed. The derivatives book moved instead.

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That difference reflects LINK’s lower market price. The token is trading about 57% below its October level, meaning traders can control considerably more LINK with the same dollar amount of collateral.

Funding rates have also remained positive throughout the buildup. Positive funding generally means traders holding long positions are paying short sellers to keep their contracts open, suggesting that the increase in leverage is tilted toward bullish positioning.

The market has not yet returned to its previous extreme. Coin-denominated open interest remains below the August 2025 peak of approximately 34 million LINK.

The latest move therefore represents a leverage rebuild rather than a record expansion.

Standard Chartered Sets $200 LINK Target

Standard Chartered initiated coverage of Chainlink with a $200 target for the end of 2030, implying a roughly 25-fold increase from LINK’s price when the report was published.

The bank argued that Chainlink could become essential infrastructure for the tokenization of financial assets.

Its services connect blockchains with external data, support transfers between networks and provide tools needed for compliance and institutional transactions.

Standard Chartered expects tokenized assets held onchain to reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028, up from approximately $340 billion.

It projected that Chainlink’s fees could increase about 25-fold by 2030 as demand for oracle data and cross-chain services grows.

The bank identified slower institutional adoption, competition and technical failures as key risks to its forecast.

Citi Previously Said Chainlink Could Eclipse Bitcoin

The bullish thesis echoes an argument made by Citi in a March 2021 report. The bank described Chainlink as a leading decentralized oracle provider and said an infrastructure-linked cryptocurrency could eventually “eclipse Bitcoin.”

Citi did not issue a specific LINK price target in the attached report. Instead, it argued that LINK could gain importance as Chainlink becomes increasingly critical to blockchain infrastructure.

Citi view on LINK — Citi sees LINK overtaking BTC one day. | Credit: Citi

The comparison also concerned function rather than current market value. Bitcoin is primarily treated as a scarce monetary asset, while LINK pays for services that connect smart contracts with real-world information.

For traders, the immediate issue is whether leveraged optimism has moved ahead of spot demand. Positive funding and rising open interest can support a rally if prices climb, but they also increase liquidation risk if LINK falls.

Standard Chartered supplied the long-term target. For now, derivatives traders, not spot buyers, have delivered the strongest response.

Chainlink (LINK) Leverage Rebuilds Above Pre-Crash Levels as Standard Chartered Targets $200

LINK Open Interest Returns Above Pre-Crash Level

Standard Chartered Sets $200 LINK Target

Citi Previously Said Chainlink Could Eclipse Bitcoin

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