Despite developments, why is Chainlink’s [LINK] unable to break out of bearish shackles

Chainlink is a decentralized network set up with the objective of extending the functionality of blockchains, by connecting smart contracts to real-world data, events, payments, and off-chain computation in a highly tamper-resistant and reliable manner.

Whilst providing its Chainlink Adoption Update on May 22, it was revealed that between May 16 to May 22, a total of 16 integrations were made for 3 Chainlink services. These services included the Chainlink Feeds, Chainlink VRF and the Chainlink Keepers. 

It was also revealed that these integrations were made across the 4 different blockchains namely; Ethereum, Polygon, BNBChain and Fantom.

Recording a 5% spike in price in the last 24 hours, the network’s native token, LINK appeared to have made some progress. But whilst these integrations were implemented over the course of the last 7 days, how did this token react?

No Chain Reaction?

Up 6% in the last 24 hours, the LINK token appeared to have suffered decline in the last 7 days. As these integrations were implemented over the course of the last 7 days, the price of the LINK token  took on a downtrend. Standing at $7.84 on May 16, the token saw a 6% loss in its price in just 7 days. 86% shy of its ATH of $52.88, if this momentum of cross chain integrations and use cases are maintained, it might be on the way to reaching the same3 once again. 

Furthermore, within the same period, the market capitalization suffered a gradual decline. From the $3.66 billion marked as market cap on 16 May, this stood at $3.45b at press time despite the many integrations implemented for the Chainlink Network

Although it suffered a price decrease in the last 7 days, the same period appeared to have been marked by a bullish divergence for the LINK token. As could be gleaned from price charts at press time, the MACD maintained a position at the base of the histogram bars with the MACD line intersecting with the trend line in an upward trend. This showed increased buying pressure for the token in the last 7 days. 

Similarly, in an upward curve towards the 50% neutral region in the last 7 days, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) for the Link token indicated a steady increase in buying pressure. 

Source: TradingView

Up 6% in the last 24 hours with a corresponding 74% spike in trading volume, the bulls appeared to be making a headway with this token.

Oliver Twist of Declines

On-chain analysis revealed that the LINK did not only record lows on a price front, certain on-chain metrics used to track growth also reported declines in the past 7 days.

As expected, on a developmental front, the token recorded some strides in the last 7 days, albeit very minute. This metric grew by a mere 1% in 7 days. 

Source: Santiment

On a social front, despite the news of cross-chain integrations, the token recorded no significant traction in the last week. Since 16 May, the Social Dominance, attempting a high on 17 May, has taken on a downtrend. It stood 0.529% at the time of press. Similarly, the Social Volume also recording a spike on 17 May reversed trend and went downward. This stood at 391 at press time. 

Source: Santiment

Also, the last 7 days were marked with a gradual decline in the transaction volume for the LINK token. Within this window period, the token declined by 57%.

Source: Santiment

The index for Daily Active Addresses transacting the LINK token dropped by a whopping 72%.

Source: Santiment