Summary
- Institutions are incorporating LINK due to its effectiveness, accuracy, and transparency.
- The launch of an OCR upgrade for its network is likely to make it more efficient and attractive to investors.
LINK struggled to break past the $30 today, oscillating marginally to trade at a price $2.3% lower than the previous 24 hours at press time. That said, Chainlink is on a recovery path after it fell at the end of last month and is 172% higher year-to-date.
The recent price increase is attributable to increased institutional adoption and an upcoming virtual hackathon event. LINK is currently ranked at the tenth position with a market capitalization of nearly $13 billion.
Institutional adoption remains the key driver
As cryptocurrencies jostle to gain footing against fiat currencies, digital lending is seen as one of the most important segments. In line with that, BlockFi has recently added LINK to its platform. The move will enable depositors of LINK to earn over 5% interest on their LINK holdings on the platform.
In essence, this is expected to make LINK more attractive and encourage diversification from stronger altcoins.
Elsewhere, GrayScale announced earlier last month that it was weighing the option of diversifying its digital assets to include LINK and other altcoins. The move is seen as a strategy to spread risk and increase profit margins given the volatility in the crypto-market.
Cognizant of the exponential increase in interest in cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg Terminal has added LINK, Stellar Lumens, among other altcoins to its platform. The announcement was made four days ago and indicates that LINK has gained much traction to warrant Bloomberg’s action.
Following that development, users will be able to track and analyze real-time market data. The Bloomberg Terminal activation will expose LINK to institutional investors and potentially attract acquisitions.
Acceptance of LINK as a means of payment by retail outlets and large firms is another frontier for growth. Travala.com has recently begun accepting LINK as a payment method. The travel site has enabled payments for flight tickets, hotel booking, and home rentals using LINK.
A recent Citi Group report has predicted that LINK may gain more ground over ETH and even Bitcoin. The assessment is based on the finding that LINK has expanded past the ETH network following integration into other blockchains such as DOT and Tezos. This makes a strong case for investors to opt for LINK as their altcoin of choice.
Breaking new ground
The cryptocurrency has also ventured into the multi-million dollar film industry. Film Financier, Mogul merged with LINK Oracles last month to initiate v1. The move is geared towards improving accessibility and transparency in the production of films and finances.
Mogul hopes that the adoption of this technology will give it better control of its investments. The company also intends to employ the LINK blockchain technology in overseeing rewards and voting in the industry. Ultimately, Mogul hopes that the move will enhance transparency in the management of its investments and financings in the film industry.
About a month ago, Kraken, a digital currency exchange had announced that it was operating its LINK network. Kraken’s interrelation to the LINK network will enable the exchange to relay the data for its price to be used in apps based on blockchain.
In another significant move, LINK rolled out an OCR system upgrade to its network two weeks ago. The purpose of the upgrade was to reduce gas fees and overload on the ETH network. This will certainly help propel it higher in the coming weeks.
LINK/USD technical outlook
LINK is likely to make marginal moves on either side of the $30 mark. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 55, indicating a mostly bullish trend. The LINK/USD pair will find support at $28.07 and the second support at $29.48. The first resistance level will be at $31.00, while the second resistance at $31.54 will meet a break past this point.
