Dormant Chainlink Whale Sparks Sell-Off Fears After $1.12M Coinbase Transfer

Trading at $13.76, Chainlink LINK/USD has dropped 3.96% in a single day and 12.93% in a week, after increasing by more than 2.45% this month. The price action comes after a dormant Chainlink whale transferred $1.12 million of LINK onto Coinbase for the first time in five years.

The high-profile transfer of 79,474 LINK tokens was built between 2018 to early 2020 at an average token cost of $0.6865. At the current deposit price of $14.13, it would be a staggering 1,958% return on investment, bringing more than $1 million in profit if the entire holdings were sold out. The transfer’s timing and destination at a centralized exchange have created sell-off fear among investors, particularly because Chainlink didn’t perform well this week.

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Chainlink's 24-hour trading volume rose by 12% to reach about $320 million. While the high volume is a sign of increased interest in Chainlink from opportunistic buyers and cautious sellers, it’s the destination of the tokens that creates pressure. Coinbase is commonly used for asset liquidation, which can increase short-term selling volume if the wallet decides to sell out entirely.

On the 4-hour LINK/USDT chart, the RSI is around 58, indicating a balanced market without clear overbought or oversold signals. The MACD recently showed a bullish crossover, which implies a shift toward upward momentum, but the trend can be interrupted by further massive liquidations.

LINK has tested and traded above $13.50 multiple times in recent sessions. Any persistent selling pressure can take it lower, and cancel the recovery formation. The next level of support to monitor is $13.00, and below it, Chainlink can move into a steeper correction channel.

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Wider market sentiment isn't helping Chainlink as the general altcoin market has lost strength, and Chainlink is vulnerable due to its underperformance compared to its peers, losing 13% in a week. After the attempt to hold the $15 level failed in April, bulls are struggling to maintain a lower range, which is contributing to the technical weakness.

CoinCodex analysts predict a short-term increase to $15.78 by the end of June but do not expect LINK to reach the critical $20 level until August 2025. The indicators are neutral, like other technical measures of MACD and RSI, which show a holding pattern rather than a breakout or breakdown.

Broader macro trends like the 0.5% increase in the S&P 500 and 0.7% increase in the Nasdaq usually support risk-on sentiment, which occasionally spills over into crypto. For Chainlink, such tailwinds didn't convert into support amid ETF delays and DeFi uncertainty that have been affecting the token's medium-term prospects.

The predicted $20 target during the hype season seems very distant unless there is a clear breakout from the present trend. Some traders are hopeful, but the pattern looks weak as long as LINK remains under $15.

In the short term, the traders have to keep a close eye on both exchange inflow metrics and on-chain flows. A large wallet transfer or rising exchange reserves would mean that the bear period is coming. Sustained holding above $13.50 with increasing volume would indicate market absorption of whale sell pressure, and a reset for upside attempts.

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