Chainlink [LINK] hits Q1 2023 price ceiling- Will sellers prevail

Disclaimer: The information presented does not constitute financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice and is solely the writer’s opinion

• LINK was strongly bullish on the 12-hour chart.
• There was increased short-term selling pressure. 

Chainlink [LINK], like most altcoins, managed to recover losses made in mid-March during the U.S. banking crisis and overall market uncertainty.

It rose from $6, consolidated, then surged to $8.5 at the time of writing. Overall, LINK rallied over 40% since mid-March but had hit a key Q1 2023 price ceiling that could invite sellers unless Bitcoin [BTC] remains bullish. 

Read Chainlink [LINK] Price Prediction 2023-24

Chainlink [LINK] network has seen more integration of its services across Ethereum [ETH], Arbitrium [ARB], and Polygon [MATIC].

⬡ Chainlink Adoption Update ⬡

There were 12 integrations of 4 #Chainlink services across 3 different chains: @Arbitrum, @Ethereum, and @0xPolygon.

Chainlink enables #Web3 innovation. pic.twitter.com/qEKxvu2JdK

— Chainlink (@chainlink) April 16, 2023

Can the new integrations prop up its native LINK’s value in the long term? 

A likely new high or an impending pullback?

LINK’s first leg of recovery ended in a price consolidation between $6.86 – $7.64. The second leg of recovery broke above the parallel channel and hit the bullish target of $8.4, setting LINK to reclaim its Q1 2023 level. The level was also a key resistance level in September 2022. 

As such, the uptrend momentum could slow down or enter a pullback, especially if BTC fails to reclaim the $30k level. If that is the case, LINK could retrace to $7.947 or the former channel’s upper boundary of $7.64. The dynamic 50-EMA and 200-MA support levels could check any further drop below $7.64. 

A session close above $8.5 will be an invalidation. Such an upswing, especially if BTC surges beyond $30.4k, could tip LINK to target its pre-FTX levels of $9.0 – $9.5.  

Meanwhile, RSI and the stochastic RSI have hit the overbought zone, reinforcing the bullish sentiment. But the overbought condition may tip bulls to take a break to cool off from the recent rally.

Nevertheless, the ADX (Average Directional Index) rose sharply – suggesting a stronger uptrend at press time. 

Trading volumes and selling pressure increased

Is your portfolio green? Check LINK Profit Calculator 

LINK’s trading volume dropped to its lowest around 9 April. After that, it improved despite a few fluctuations, as shown by the active addresses (yellow bars). In addition, the funding rates remained positive, reinforcing a good demand and bullish outlook from the derivatives market. 

However, there was increasing short-term selling pressure despite LINK’s bullish momentum, as denoted by rising supply on exchanges.

Besides, the drop in supply outside of exchanges, at the time of writing, showed a decline in the accumulation as some investors lock in short-term gains.