The Chainlink price has risen by 12.5% in the past week and 20% in the last 30 days, with the altcoin up by 43% since the start of the year.
Some analysts are predicting that LINK may carry through to $10 in the coming weeks, helped by a combination of price momentum and growing usage.
Chainlink’s chart is showing signs of potential growth including its 30-day moving average climbing over its 200-day average, and its relative strength index rising from 50 to 60.
Overview of Chainlink Price Movement
The Chainlink (LINK) cryptocurrency has seen an impressive rise in price over recent weeks, increasing by 12.5% in the past week and 20% in the last 30 days. The altcoin is up by 43% since January 2021, although it has dipped slightly by 0.5% within the last 24 hours as part of a general decline across all cryptocurrencies within this timeframe. Despite this dip, some analysts are predicting further gains for LINK due to both current momentum and increased usage surrounding its decentralized oracle network.
Analysis Indicating Potential Growth
Chainlink’s chart is currently indicating potential growth with two key indicators pointing towards a possible breakout rally. Firstly, its 30-day moving average (red) has recently crossed over its 200-day average (blue), forming what traders call a ‘golden cross’ that can often indicate upward movement for an asset. At the same time, LINK’s relative strength index (RSI) has also risen from under 50 earlier this month to over 60 now – again suggesting growing buying pressure which could continue gaining momentum before being played out. If LINK breaks through resistance at $8 then it may continue rising until such time as buying pressure plateaus or reverses direction.
Price Predictions
Many experts are predicting that LINK will reach $10 in coming weeks while some supporters believe that SWIFT’s partnership with Chainlink may help propel it much higher than this figure eventually. Michaël van de Poppe – founder of Netherlands-based trading platform Eight – believes that LINK will soon reach $10 before breaking out of an accumulated 10-month period thereafter; while many Link supporters claim that it is ‘about to explode’ without giving any specific figures on what they expect from its future performance.
In conclusion, there is much speculation surrounding future performance for Chainlink; however there are many indicators suggesting potential growth for the cryptocurrency over coming weeks – particularly if it can break through resistance at $8 which appears likely given current trends and technical analysis. Ultimately only time will tell whether these predictions come true but LINK certainly warrants closer attention at present given their impressive performance so far this year coupled with increasing usability around their decentralized oracle network infrastructure
• Positive funding rates suggest speculators are bullish on Bitcoin.
• The cryptocurrency recently printed fresh 8-month highs at $25,270.
• A surge of new investors is likely helping drive the recent gains seen in Bitcoin.
Recent Price Jump
Bitcoin recently saw its price jump to eight-month highs at $25,270 earlier this week, before pulling back to the upper $23,000s. The positive price movement of the last few days has also resulted in a spike in liquidations of Bitcoin future short positions according to crypto analytics website coinglass.com.
New Investor Influx
Crypto data analytics platform Glassnode reported that the number of wallets with a non-zero balance recently surged above 44 million for the first time, driven by an influx of new wallets with small BTC balances (presumably retail investors). Wallets containing under 0.01 BTC (so-called „plankton“ addresses) and those containing under 1 BTC (so-called „shrimp“ addresses) both hit all-time highs above 32 million and 43 million respectively – suggesting more and more new investors are entering the market.
Realized HODL Ratio
The Realized HODL Ratio takes the ratio between coins that are one week old and coins that are one to two years old; when this ratio reverses it can be an indicator that a new bull market is beginning and new investors are returning to the market once again – as was seen during Bitcoin’s recovery following its bear market at the end of 2018/start of 2019.
Can New Investors Keep Pumping?
The recent surge in new investor numbers could help maintain or even increase Bitcoin’s current upward momentum – however there is no guarantee that this will be sustained in future if prices start to decline again or if a large enough portion of these newer investors decide to cash out their profits quickly following any further increases in price.
Record High Number of Bitcoin Addresses With Non-Zero Balance
• The number of Bitcoin wallet addresses holding a non-zero balance of BTC hit a new record high this week.
• This surge was triggered by optimism for a better macro backdrop in 2023 and signs that the Bitcoin bear market is over.
• The majority of the new wallets are those holding less than 1 BTC, suggesting small investors are driving the growth.
FTX Collapse Triggers Shift to Crypto Self-Custody
In November 2022, the collapse of one of largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world FTX resulted in customers losing access to billions in funds. Investors rushed to get their Bitcoin off exchanges, triggering a surge in address numbers at the time.
However, capitulation as Bitcoin’s price fell to fresh 2022 lows caused many wallets to get rid of all their Bitcoin, leading to an equally swift pullback in non-zero address numbers.
January Price Surge Entices New Investors Back into Market
It has taken a roughly 40% surge in Bitcoin’s price since the start of 2023 amid increased on-chain and technical signs that the bear market is over to entice enough new investors back into the market and drive up wallet address counts back to a record high.
Rotation In Ownership Away from Larger Investors
Data from Glassnode on BTC wallet address cohorts reveals that this most recent surge was led by wallets holding small amounts (<1BTC). At the same time, there has been no significant change in numbers for Crab, Fish and Shark wallets (holding 1-10; 10-1K; >1K respectively), indicating no significant shift towards larger investors yet.
Conclusion
The rise in non-zero wallet address numbers suggests that small investors are driving this growth as they return to take advantage of improved macroeconomic conditions and bullish sentiment surrounding Bitcoin’s future prospects
• A 47-year-old resident of Orenburg in Russia has been sentenced to four years in prison for crypto mining-related fraud.
• The man had duped a local entrepreneur into investing money in a crypto mining project, but had failed to deliver on any of his promises.
• He was ordered to pay full compensation as well as a fine of nearly $4,300.
Russian Crypto Mining Fraudster Jailed
A 47-year-old resident of Orenburg in Russia has been sent to prison for four years for committing cryptocurrency mining fraud. The man had duped a local entrepreneur into investing money in a crypto mining project, but had failed to deliver on any of his promises, and was subsequently ordered to pay full compensation as well as a fine of nearly $4,300.
Details of the Fraud Scheme
The court heard that the fraudster offered the local entrepreneur an opportunity to work with him on a project where they would buy and resell cryptocurrency hardware for profit. The entrepreneur provided approximately $108,000 from his own funds and another company he founded invested nearly $172,000 into the scheme. Unfortunately, no crypto mining equipment was ever delivered nor were any refunds issued.
Guilty Plea Denied by Defendant
The defendant pleaded not guilty in court claiming that he „had no intention“ of deceiving the entrepreneur; however the court found him guilty on two counts of fraud resulting in his sentence and financial restitution order being issued.
Growth of Crypto Mining Industry
Crypto mining is becoming increasingly popular throughout Russia with certain parts such as Irkutsk becoming known as hotspots for miners. Russian energy firms are also looking at potential gas powered crypto mining projects at various oil drilling sites due to their low cost prices compared to other countries like Kazakhstan which has 18% hash rate compared with 11.23% from Russia and 35% from USA according the Lil Morrison (@LillyMoCrypto).
