Whales Accumulate 10M LINK Amid Chainlink Network Growth
Chainlink (LINK)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
cryptobriefing.com reports that large holders acquired approximately 10.36 million LINK, valued at $120 million, following a 17% price correction. This accumulation occurred as Chainlink’s price retreated from highs near $13 to trade around $11.50 by mid-September 2026. The buying spree coincided with the network crossing $30 trillion in cumulative transaction value and a 260% spike in Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol transaction volume.
Chainlink’s strategic reserve also increased its holdings by 91,100 LINK, bringing its total to 5.86 million tokens. Meanwhile, one tracked wallet deposited 2.41 million LINK, worth about $26 million, to Coinbase, signaling potential selling intent. This outflow represented roughly a quarter of the broader whale cohort's purchases during the same period.
Institutional interest remained steady, with inflows reported for the Grayscale GLNK ETF and Bitwise. Despite the price decline, the fresh accumulation suggests strong conviction among smart money. Traders are now monitoring whether these whale wallets will move tokens to exchanges, which could create overhead resistance. The single Coinbase deposit is noted as a potential headwind, though it remains manageable against the larger accumulation volume.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for LINK, measured when this story was written up on 13 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Whalio’s Binance spot data shows LINK trading at $11.51 with a 24-hour buy ratio of 51.6%, indicating a slight majority of volume is buying. However, the 4-hour buy ratio has dropped to 44.0%, suggesting that short-term buying pressure is fading compared to the daily average. The 1-hour buy ratio sits at 51.1%, showing a brief return to balanced activity after the 4-hour dip. Volume Delta reflects this shift, with a positive $287,570 over 24 hours but a negative -$153,082 over the last 4 hours. This means that while buyers have dominated the day, sellers have recently taken control of the immediate flow. The Cumulative Volume Delta closing at +$28,118 confirms that net buying has occurred over the full day, but the recent negative delta warns of weakening momentum.
The latest daily buy ratio of 49.4% sits at the 56th percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 48.8% - ordinary for this coin.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for LINK, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, LINK experienced a 4.5% price decline with spot volume trading at just 0.24 times its average. Net buying occurred on only 4 of the 7 days, with the 7-day average buy ratio sitting at 50.8%. Today’s 24-hour buy ratio of 51.6% is 0.8 points higher than the weekly average, marking a slight increase in buying dominance. Despite this ratio improvement, the 24-hour volume of $9,173,050 remains significantly below the weekly norm, as indicated by the 0.24x volume ratio. This suggests that while the proportion of buyers has risen, the overall activity level is unusually low compared to recent trends.