While Chainlink staking v0.1 will go live on the mainnet on December 6, the LINK price has shown a strong performance over the past week. At press time, LINK was trading at $7.58, and thus up 13.5% over the last week.
Still, Chainlink has been going sideways for seven months. However, thanks to dovish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during a speech yesterday, the horizon for relief rallies within the crypto market are widening again.
Looking at the daily chart, Chainlink is still in the middle of its 7-month range, yet the introduction of staking could generate much more interest for the project.
LINK has not made new lows within the 1-day time frame recently, which suggests bull strength from a technical perspective. Chainlink (LINK) price has risen 35% since its recent low.
Nevertheless, the upper end of the 7-month range remains the next crucial target in the daily chart. If LINK is able to break out, the next target could be the zone around $12.30.
On a smaller time frame, LINK is in the middle of its 7-month range, where key resistance zones can also be found. In the 4-hour chart, a correction was recently observed, after which a renewed upswing occurred.
From a technical perspective, LINK should not fall below $6.70. Once LINK begins to hold here, it is prudent to look at the $8.50 to $9.50 zone, where the next key resistance is located.
Chainlink Staking As Catalyst For A Price Boost?
With Chainlink staking v0.1 released on the Ethereum mainnet on December 6, the project aims to complete an iterative approach to developing future versions of staking beyond this initial release.
Originally, a lock-in period of 12-24 months, based on a conservative release cycle, was planned. However, after discussions with a number of community members and node operators, it is now clear that a faster iteration with frequent releases, each with a compressed scope, will be the final solution.
The next version of staking (v0.2) is now scheduled for release in 9-12 months. At that time, stakers from v0.1 will be able to unlock or migrate their staked LINK and rewards for the first time.
On December 6, only a few addresses will initially be eligible for staking. They will be able to stake up to 7,000 LINK worth about $53,000 in a capped staking pool.
On December 8, the staking pool will be open to all. Again, there will be an initial cap on the pool of 25 million LINK.
As staking reduces the supply of liquid LINK, it could be a potential price catalyst, boosting the Chainlink price out of its 7-month range. Investors should therefore closely watch LINK’s performance over the next two week.