Chainlink (LINK) Slides Below Key Support as Institutional Selling Intensifies

Chainlink’s native token, LINK, fell sharply on Thursday, dropping 8% from $18.39 to $16.92 as institutional traders drove heavy sell-offs. The decline pushed LINK below a critical descending trendline, signaling heightened bearish momentum. According to CoinDesk’s market data, trading volume surged to 3.94 million tokens during the breakdown—almost double its average—confirming strong institutional activity behind the move.

Despite recent attempts, LINK has struggled to reclaim the $17 psychological resistance, hovering in a tight consolidation range. Trading activity plunged nearly 58% from session highs, highlighting weak buying pressure and a lack of institutional accumulation, even as the token approaches oversold levels on technical indicators.

Meanwhile, on the fundamental side, Ondo Finance, a leading real-world asset protocol, announced Chainlink as its exclusive provider of price feeds for over 100 tokenized stocks and ETFs. The collaboration extends to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) and data services covering corporate actions like dividend updates—enhancing valuation accuracy across multiple blockchains. This strategic partnership underscores Chainlink’s expanding role in the tokenized finance and RWA (real-world asset) sectors.

Adding to market dynamics, the Chainlink Reserve increased its holdings by 64,445 LINK on Thursday, marking its largest purchase since August. The reserve now controls roughly $11 million in LINK, reflecting long-term confidence in the project despite short-term volatility.

For traders, key levels to monitor include resistance at $17.00 and $18.20, while downside targets sit at $16.50 and potentially $16.00 if selling pressure continues. The recent volume spike and trendline break suggest a potential continuation of the correction unless buyers return to defend key supports.