Chainlink forecast: LINK stays below $8 despite network growth

LINK is down by less than 1% and continues to trade below $8. The coin staged a modest recovery after falling to a two-year low of $6.99 on Saturday. 

While short-term sentiment remains mixed, renewed institutional demand and continued ecosystem expansion are reinforcing a constructive long-term outlook for the oracle network.

Institutional inflow into Chainlink products could push LINK’s price higher in the near term.

The momentum indicators have also improved, suggesting that the bears are losing control of the market. 

Growing wallet activity highlights ecosystem resilience

Despite LINK remaining below the $10 mark since February and posting more than 60% in cumulative losses over the last six months, on-chain metrics suggest adoption continues to grow.

Santiment’s latest report on Chainlink reveals that the number of wallets holding at least one LINK token climbed to 535,650 on Monday, the highest level recorded since December 2022.

While smaller holders typically have limited influence on short-term price movements, the steady rise in wallet numbers points to ongoing user adoption and gradual accumulation. 

The trend reinforces Chainlink's position as a key infrastructure provider for decentralized oracle services, tokenized assets, and real-world asset (RWA) applications.

Institutional demand for Chainlink remains strong through dedicated LINK exchange-traded funds.

LINK-focused ETFs attracted approximately $1.81 million in inflows on Monday, pushing total net assets to $101.21 million. Notably, the products have recorded no outflows since launching on December 2.

The uninterrupted inflow streak suggests institutional investors remain confident in Chainlink's long-term value proposition despite the token's prolonged price decline.

Finally, the derivatives market paints a bullish picture for Chainlink.

According to CoinGlass data, LINK futures open interest rose more than 4% over the past 24 hours to $373.56 million, indicating traders are increasing their exposure as risk appetite gradually returns.

Meanwhile, the open-interest-weighted funding rate improved to 0.0024% from -0.0023% a day earlier, signaling a slight bullish shift in market positioning.

Chainlink price analysis: Bulls need a break above key resistance

The LINK/USD 4-hour chart remains bearish despite the slight market recovery.

LINK remains trapped within a broader downtrend despite its recent rebound.

The coin is trading below the 50-day EMA at $9.04, the 100-day EMA at $9.48, and the 200-day EMA at $10.70.

Technical indicators suggest selling pressure may be easing, although a confirmed reversal has yet to emerge.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits around 15 on the 4-hour chart, recovering from oversold conditions and indicating improving momentum.

However, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains below the zero line, while the histogram continues to print negative readings. 

For bulls to strengthen the recovery narrative, LINK must overcome several resistance zones, starting with the February low of $8.13. 

A daily candle close above this level would allow LINK to extend its rally towards the 50-day EMA in the near term. 

However, if the bearish trend persists, the buyers will need to defend the $7.48 key support level. Failure to defend this level could see LINK decline towards $6.99, its two-year low price.