Decentralized Oracle Network Chainlink’s LINK token and other well-known alternative cryptocurrencies (so-called Altcoins) are posting solid gains as crypto market leader Bitcoin takes a bull break.
LINK set a new record price of $ 23.68 overnight and is changing hands near $ 21.73 at press time, an increase of 7.3% in 24 hours. The previous lifetime high of $ 19.90 was hit in August, according to CoinDesk 20 data.
The cryptocurrency nearly doubled in the first two weeks of the year, a sharp spike from the 530% jump last year. Chainlink’s oracles act as a bridge between smart contracts for cryptocurrency and off-chain data feeds.
Some altcoins like OMG and OXT are up over 10% in the past 24 hours, while others, including Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, are each up at least 2-8%.
Bitcoin is currently trading near $ 36,900, a gain of 5% in 24 hours, but remains trapped in a one-week tightening range of $ 30,000 to $ 40,000. The consolidation phase seems to be on pave the way for the rotation of money into the relatively cheap altcoins.
The move to Alts began last week with a sharp surge in the Polkadot blockchain’s DOT token to become the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, according to Alex Melikhov, CEO and founder of the Cryptocurrency Framework Equilibrium and EOSDT Stablecoin. “Other coins now seem to follow polkadot higher,” he said.
The record volatility margin between Ether and Bitcoin seen earlier this month indicated a rally in Ether and alternative cryptocurrencies in general could be on the way.
Altcoins could continue to “pop hard” while Bitcoin is held in a narrower price range. said Market analyst Lark Davis on Twitter.
LINK may get an extra boost from an upcoming move to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) this year. Staking refers to the process of pledging coins for a period of time to aid operations on a blockchain network in exchange for rewards. It is similar for laypeople to earn interest on fixed income investments like bonds.
The altcoin rally could pause if the recent narrowing in Bitcoin’s price range ends in a bullish breakout and opens doors to stronger gains. “If bitcoin blows $ 42,000, it will test $ 50,000 pretty quickly,” said Vinny Lingham, investor and founder of crypto wallet and identity verification firm Civic. tweeted Thursday.
