Chainlink nears a 100% rally as LINK gains 80% since June amid renewed speculation that it could eventually flip XRP.
Chainlink has posted two consecutive months of strong gains, nearly doubling from around $7 as buying momentum continues to build. This sustained advance has strengthened Chainlink’s market position and renewed speculation that LINK could eventually challenge XRP for market-cap dominance.
Chainlink Gains 80% Since June Low
On June 26, LINK traded at a low of $7.02 as the broader crypto market remained under pressure. However, it quickly rebounded as market sentiment improved and eventually reached an eight-month high of $13.68 yesterday.
Although LINK has since retraced to around $12.67, it has retained most of its gains and remains 80.48% above its June 26 low.
XRP, meanwhile, has posted a more modest recovery over the same period. The token traded at $1.00 on June 26 before climbing to a multi-month high of $1.68 on August 22, representing a 68% increase. XRP has since pulled back to around $1.39, leaving it 39% above its June low.
LINK Still Faces a Huge Gap With XRP
Despite LINK’s stronger performance, Chainlink still has a substantial market-cap gap to close before it can overtake XRP.
LINK currently ranks as the 13th-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $9.45 billion. XRP, by comparison, ranks fifth with a valuation of around $86.91 billion.
Therefore, LINK would need to increase its market cap by roughly 820% to reach $87 billion and challenge XRP. Assuming its circulating supply remains unchanged at 748.1 million tokens, such a valuation would put LINK at about $116 per token.
For now, XRP maintains a commanding lead. Nevertheless, LINK’s rapid appreciation shows how quickly the gap between major cryptocurrencies can narrow during a strong market cycle.
XRP Eyes $1.46 Breakout
Meanwhile, analyst Ali Martinez sees a potential breakout forming for XRP while warning that Chainlink’s recent rally could be losing momentum.
Martinez said XRP appears to be forming a descending triangle on the hourly chart. He is watching for an hourly close above $1.40, which could confirm a breakout and potentially push XRP toward $1.46.
Martinez Highlights Three Warning Signals for Chainlink
At the same time, Martinez identified three signals suggesting that LINK could enter a cooldown following its sharp 95% rally from around $7 to $13.
First, the TD Sequential indicator flashed a weekly sell signal, pointing to a rising risk of profit-taking. Second, whale activity has declined sharply. Transactions worth more than $1 million fell from roughly 59 over the past two weeks to about 10, indicating weaker large-holder activity.
Finally, 1.75 million LINK have moved onto exchanges. As a result, exchange balances increased from 269.25 million to roughly 271 million LINK, potentially signaling greater selling pressure.