Chainlink supply on exchanges hits lowest point since 2020, with LINK staking v0.2 launch

Chainlink launched version 2 of its staking for the LINK holder community on November 28. Within 24 hours of the launch, several version 1 stakers migrated their holdings to the newer version, and LINK tokens left exchanges in large volumes. 

Also read: Bitcoin Spot ETF applications see amendments, holders await January batch approval

Chainlink staking v0.2 draws LINK holders

Staking is a core initiative of Chainlink and it secures the blockchain network. LINK holders back the performance of Chainlink’s oracle services and earn rewards in exchange. Chainlink staking v0.1 had its beta release in December 2022. LINK’s staking pool consisted of 25 million tokens that supported the security of its ETH/USD data feed on the Ethereum chain. 

Version 2, v0.2 has been launched with a pool size of 45 million LINK tokens. The network has expanded the scope of participants in its staking initiative and allows priority migration of staking from v0.1 to v0.2. 

Within 24 hours of launch, 68% of v0.1 stakers migrated their holdings to v0.2 and existing Chainlink stakers have eight more days of guaranteed access to the new staking pool. 

Chainlink Staking

LINK holdings on exchanges hit lowest point since 2020

The staking initiative has likely fueled a bullish outlook among LINK holders. LINK holdings on exchanges have declined to 15.04% of Chainlink’s total supply, a level previously seen in February 2020, according to Santiment data. 

A massive decline in LINK supply on exchanges supports a bullish thesis for LINK price, as it implies a reduction in selling pressure on the asset. 

LINK supply on exchanges and price 

At the time of writing, LINK price is $14.616 on Binance, the altcoin added nearly 1% on the daily timeframe and nearly 3% weekly gains.