Chainlink whale purchase 1.62 million LINK worth $22.01 million

After attempting a breakout days ago, Chainlink [LINK] was rejected at $14.9, leading to a pullback. At press time, LINK traded at $13.63, down 4.15% on the daily charts. 

Interestingly, this market retracement has created a buying window, especially among whales. 

Whale accumulates $22M worth of LINK

Since early November, LINK has recorded significant whale-related orders. Spot Average Order Size data from CryptoQuant showed Large Whale Orders for 28 consecutive days. 

Source: CryptoQuant

Such a sustained period of whale orders signals increased participation, either through buying or selling. 

In this case, these whales have been buying, as reported by Onchain Lens. According to the on-chain monitor, a whale bought 1.62 million LINK worth $22.01 million from Binance and Kraken. 

Two days ago, the whale had scooped up 557.94K LINK worth $8.03 million. In total, the whale now holds 2.18 million LINK tokens. 

Typically, increased whale accumulation signals confidence in the market, as they anticipate more gains. 

In fact, exchange activity has further echoed this accumulation trend. According to CryptoQuant, Exchange Netflow dropped again, dropping to -151k tokens. 

Source: CryptoQuant

A negative Netflow indicates higher exchange withdrawals, a clear sign of increased accumulation.

Why is LINK struggling, though?

Interestingly, while whales have been accumulating, retail investors took the recent uptick as an opportunity to realize profit.

In fact, when Link jumped to $14.9, retail traders started to cash out. According to Coinalyze, Chainlink recorded a negative Buy Sell Delta for three consecutive days.

Source: Coinalyze

Over this period, retail sellers offloaded 8.1 million in volume compared to 7.32 million in Buy Volume. As a result, the altcoin recorded a Buy Sell Delta of -0.78 million, indicating increased selling activity.

Thus, retail selling has caused significant downward pressure on Link, leading to the recent pullback.

Can whales clear $14 resistance?

Significantly, while whales have continued to accumulate, their buying pressure has remained inadequate to absorb retail sell pressure.

As a result, Chainlink’s downward pressure has continued to strengthen. In fact, the altcoin’s Stochastic RSI made a bearish crossover, dropping to 74 at press time.

At the same time, the positive index of the Directional Movement Index (DMI) has remained below its negative index, sitting around 19.

Source: TradingView

Typically, when these momentum indicators remain in such a manner, it signals a strong downtrend, with sellers still in control.

These market conditions leave Link in a risky position and could lead to further losses. Thus, if retailers continue selling, whales Link will see more losses and find support around $12.7.

However, if whales increase the accumulation rate enough to overwhelm sellers, the market will clear $14, reclaim $15, and eye $16.7.

Final Thoughts

• Chainlink whale bought 1.62 million LINK tokens worth $22.01 million
• LINK dropped 4.15% after facing rejection, as momentum to the upside weakens.