Increased Accumulation of Chainlink (LINK) by Crypto Whales as New ETF Launches

This week, crypto whales are significantly increasing their stakes in Chainlink (LINK) as the second spot ETF linked to this altcoin enters the market.

Key Takeaways

Crypto whales are ramping up their accumulation of Chainlink (LINK) amid the launch of a second ETF.
The Bitwise Chainlink ETF debuted with $2.59 million in inflows, waiving fees for the first three months.
Significant withdrawals by whale wallets indicate a long-term accumulation strategy.
Despite the positive interest from large holders, LINK has faced a slight decline in value alongside market trends.

The uptick in activity from institutional investors and large holders indicates a rising confidence in Chainlink's potential. However, LINK has seen a slight decline, dropping over 1% in the past 24 hours, mirroring the overall market trends.

Bitwise Chainlink ETF Hits the Market with $2.59 Million in Initial Inflows

The Bitwise Chainlink ETF (ticker: CLNK) commenced trading on NYSE Arca on January 14. The ETF features a 0.34% management fee, although Bitwise is waiving this charge for the first three months for assets up to $500 million.

“Chainlink provides the essential oracle infrastructure that bridges that gap, powering the risk management and financial decision-making necessary for mainstream adoption. With CLNK, investors now have a new way to invest in this foundational layer of the blockchain economy,” stated Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise.

On its opening day, the fund recorded $2.59 million in net inflows, with total net assets rising to $5.18 million and trading volumes reaching $3.24 million. This launch marks the second U.S. spot ETF directly connected to LINK, following Grayscale’s Chainlink Trust ETF (GLNK), which garnered $37.05 million in inflows on its debut in early December.

Though the initial inflows for Bitwise seem modest, the ETF's launch has raised total LINK ETF net assets to $95.87 million, inching closer to the $100 million mark.

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Significant Accumulation of LINK by Whales

In addition to institutional interest, Chainlink is increasingly attracting crypto whales. On-chain data indicates that a whale wallet (0x10D9) recently withdrew 139,950 LINK from Binance, valued at around $1.96 million. This follows a previous accumulation where the same wallet took out 202,607 LINK worth approximately $2.7 million from the exchange.

“Currently, the whale holds 342,557 $LINK, amounting to $4.81 million gathered over the past two days,” reported Onchain Lens.

Moreover, another whale wallet identified as 0xb59 withdrew 207,328 LINK, valued at about $2.78 million, on January 12. The surge in whale activity isn't a one-off; BeInCrypto noted last week that large holders have been accumulating LINK in significant sums. Data from Nansen showed that whale wallet balances increased by 1.37% over the past week, while LINK stored on exchanges decreased by 1% during the same timeframe.

This trend suggests that major investors are transferring tokens from exchanges into self-custody, a behavior typically linked to long-term accumulation rather than quick trading.

Despite this increased interest, LINK continues to be impacted by broader market conditions. According to BeInCrypto Markets data, the altcoin has experienced a 1.2% drop over the past day. As of this writing, LINK is trading at $13.8.