Chainlink whale dumps $29 mln – Can LINK bulls defend $16.5?

Key Takeaways

Why is Chainlink dropping?

A whale sold 1.62 million LINK as Spot Taker CVD showed weeklong sell dominance.

What lies ahead for the LINK price?

If LINK stays under $16.50, liquidation clusters hint at another 45% drop.

A large whale offloaded 1.62 million Chainlink [LINK] worth $28.9 million, intensifying selling pressure across the market.

The move raised concerns about whether LINK’s bearish trend could deepen or if a short-term rebound might follow.

Sellers keep control

This massive dump occurred when the overall cryptocurrency market was struggling to gain momentum, and LINK was no exception.

At press time, LINK traded at $17.40, down 3.35% in 24 hours, per CoinMarketCap. Trading volume surged 18% to $1.23 billion, signaling strong speculative activity despite the decline.

In addition, the latest data from CryptoQuant revealed that the Spot Taker CVD (Cumulative Volume Delta) for the past week showed a strong Taker Sell dominance in the market. 

Between the 15th and 22nd of October, the chart showed consistent red bars, suggesting that sell-side pressure outweighed buying activity throughout the week.

This indicated that market participants are increasingly offloading their holdings, hinting at a possible continuation of bearish momentum, unless buying interest returns in the coming days.

LINK price action and upcoming level

LINK’s bearish outlook had further strengthened due to its price action, as it appeared to be forming its second consecutive red candle on the daily chart, hovering near the key support level of $16.50.

On the daily chart, LINK hovered near $16.50 support, printing its second consecutive red candle and remaining below the 200-day EMA ($18.97).

Meanwhile, its Average Directional Index (ADX) stood at 39.31 (well above the key threshold of 25), indicating strong directional momentum, which suggested that the trend may continue in the coming days.

Based on price action, a sustained hold above $16.40 might spark a 23% recovery toward $21.50. Failure to hold this zone could lead to a 45% decline toward $8.70, mirroring prior breakdown levels.

Liquidation Map signals resistance at $18.5

Derivative metrics echoed similar weakness. CoinGlass’s LINK Exchange Liquidation Map showed heavy short positioning around $18.50, totaling $21.05 million, compared to $7.19 million in long positions near $17.10.

Across exchanges, Binance, OKX, and Bybit contributed to cumulative short leverage.

The data indicated traders expected LINK to stay capped under $18.50, viewing any bounce as a shorting opportunity rather than a breakout setup.