Chainlink Whales Now Control 46% of Total LINK Supply, Supply Squeeze Coming?

Chainlink whales aren’t slowing down in accumulating LINK tokens. Over the past month alone, large holders bought another 32.93 million LINK, pushing their combined holdings to nearly 46% of the token’s total supply. At the same time, spot LINK ETFs now control almost 1.6% of supply, while the Chainlink Reserve has surged above 3.55 million LINK.

With this massive accumulation, traders are now wondering if a major Chainlink breakout is coming.

Chainlink Whales Now Control 46% of Total LINK Supply

According to Santiment, a market intelligence platform wallet holding between 100,000 and 10 million Chainlink accumulated another 32.93 million LINK over the past month, marking a 7.7% increase in holdings. 

Their combined holdings have now climbed to a record 461 million LINK. With Chainlink’s total supply capped at 1 billion LINK, these whales now control nearly 46% of the entire circulating supply.

Santiment noted that these whales usually accumulate during weak market conditions instead of chasing price rallies. Throughout Q1 2026, while LINK traded sideways near multi-month lows, large holders steadily absorbed supply from the market.

This growing accumulation is reducing the amount of LINK available on exchanges, creating early signs of a potential supply squeeze if market demand continues rising. 

LINK ETFs and Institutional Demand Continue Growing

Institutional demand is also rising alongside whale accumulation. On May 7, Grayscale’s spot Chainlink ETF recorded approximately $878K in net inflows, pushing total assets under management to $92.54 million.

The two spot LINK ETFs currently available now hold nearly 1.58% of Chainlink’s total market capitalization.

While ETF inflows have slowed slightly in recent weeks, institutional exposure to LINK continues expanding steadily.

Chainlink Reserve Triples Since Launch

Another major bullish development comes from Chainlink’s growing reserve holdings.

The Chainlink Reserve recently added another 119,241 LINK, worth approximately $1.1 million, bringing total holdings to over 3.55 million LINK.

The reserve has now tripled since launching in August 2025:

• Around 1 million LINK at launch
• 1.4 million by January 2026
• 2.17 million by February
• Above 3.55 million currently

Chainlink (LINK) Price Outlook

From a technical perspective, crypto analyst Jonathan Carter noted that LINK is currently consolidating inside a symmetrical triangle pattern on the weekly chart.

LINK is currently testing key lower support levels as price continues compressing between higher lows and lower highs. According to Carter, a confirmed breakout could first push LINK toward the $11.50 level, with stronger momentum potentially extending the rally toward $22.00.

In a highly bullish market scenario, Carter believes LINK could eventually climb as high as $48 if broader crypto market momentum remains strong.

Meanwhile, CoinGlass data shows LINK open interest rose 5.2% to nearly $444.52 million, signaling growing derivatives activity and improving trader confidence.