Chainlink price struggles below key moving averages — is LINK running out of momentum?

Chainlink price is hovering near $11.80 as price stays capped below key moving averages with fading momentum in the short term.

At the time of writing, Chainlink was trading at $11.81, down 2.2% from the previous day, as selling pressure persisted despite a significant increase in trading activity. LINK has dropped 3.3% over the last 30 days and 7.8% weekly over the last week, moving between $11.42 and $12.95.

Daily trading volume surged to $487 million, marking a 213% increase from the previous day. On derivatives markets, CoinGlass data showed futures volume rising more than 200% to $843 million, while open interest slipped 2% to $530 million.

This points more to short-term trading than new entries. Although there is an increase in activity, traders are mostly shifting or closing their Chainlink (LINK) positions rather than adding new capital, which is typical during corrective phases.

Price weakens but fundamentals keep building

While LINK’s price action has been struggling, Chainlink’s underlying network is still growing in both traditional and crypto finance. Chainlink still controls over 70% of the decentralized oracle market, securing price feeds for decentralized finance protocols, cross-chain systems, real-world assets, and stablecoins.

As of mid-January 2026, the total value secured by Chainlink oracles exceeds $47 billion.

Adding to the institutional momentum, Chainlink recently rolled out 24/5 U.S. equities data streams, delivering sub-second pricing for major stocks and exchange-traded funds. This effectively opens the door for on-chain access to the $80 trillion U.S. equities market, allowing tokenized assets, DeFi protocols, and institutional platforms to use reliable stock market data.

The network’s enterprise reach continues to widen. Ongoing collaborations include Swift, DTCC, UBS, J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, Euroclear, Deutsche Börse, FTSE Russell, and S&P Global. Recent milestones range from a Base-to-Solana bridge powered by CCIP, to Ondo tokenizing more than 100 equities, and real-time CBDC settlement between Brazil and Hong Kong.

Santiment data adds another layer to the picture. Chainlink is clearly undervalued, with a 30-day MVRV of -9.5%. In the past, a negative MVRV has lowered selling pressure and made long-term entries more appealing, since the average holder is sitting on unrealized losses and more likely to hold.

Chainlink price technical analysis

LINK is still trading below its 50-day and 100-day moving averages, with repeated attempts at recovery failing. The daily trend is pointing downward, with each high and low falling lower than the previous ones.

The bands are tightening, and the price is drifting toward the lower Bollinger Band. That often comes before a bigger move, but it’s still unclear which direction it’ll move. The relative strength index is below neutral and still pointing down, showing momentum is softening.

Immediate focus is in the current $11.80–$12.00 area, which has acted as short-term demand in recent weeks. A sustained move below this range could pull the price toward deeper support levels. For sentiment to improve, LINK would need to reclaim the $13.00–$13.50 zone and hold above its key moving averages.