Chainlink‘s native token, LINK, experienced a substantial 24% price increase between September 1 and October 6. However, this bullish trend did not correspond with a significant uptick in new wallet creation. On-chain data provider Santiment reported that while LINK’s price surged over this period, the increase in new addresses was less than 2%.
Market Trends and Network Activity Disparity
According to Santiment, the average number of new LINK addresses per day reached 1,249 over the last four weeks, barely rising from 1,225 in the preceding four-week period ending on September 1. This discrepancy indicates that despite a notable price rally, user adoption and new wallet participation remained limited.
Santiment noted, “Despite a 24% increase in LINK’s price, new address growth was below 2%.”
In contrast, other major networks showed different patterns during the same timeframe. Solana saw new address creation rise by approximately 33%, coinciding with a 20% increase in its SOL token price. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price climbed around 11%, with no significant jump in new addresses.
Accelerated Gains at September’s End
The LINK token began September trading in the $11.22 to $11.23 range and closed at approximately $13.96 by October 6, translating to a 24.4% gain over the period. Early in September, LINK breached the $13 mark but faced a sharp correction afterward. On September 16, it reached a low of $10.618, according to Binance data. However, buying demand strengthened, propelling LINK above $12 on September 18 and past the $15 mark later in the month.
One of the most significant rallies was observed on September 28, when LINK soared by 10.15%, closing around $15.45, with an intraday high of $15.77. Compared to the September 1 close, this represented an impressive 38% increase.
CCIP 2.0 Announcement Steers Market Sentiment
This price action coincided with a flurry of announcements from the Chainlink ecosystem, chief among them the introduction of CCIP 2.0 on September 28. Chainlink is recognized as an infrastructure provider focused on enabling data and asset transfers across different blockchains.
CCIP 2.0 aims to offer greater control for institutions and asset issuers during cross-chain transactions. The update includes optional additional validators, a faster transfer framework, adjustable fees, and native compliance features through the Chainlink Automated Compliance Engine.
Chainlink stated, “CCIP 2.0 seeks to provide more control in cross-chain transactions for institutions and asset issuers.”
Despite the positive sentiment from the CCIP 2.0 announcement and the coinciding price spike of nearly 10%, it remains unclear if this alone fueled LINK’s bullish performance. The disparity between price growth and new address creation suggests the rally was driven more by market interest and news flow than by expansion of the user base.
