Chainlink (LINK) - the premier blockchain oracle course
Chainlink's release on exchanges and the first crypto boom (2017 — 2018)
The Chainlink protocol token under the ticker LINK appeared in September 2017 — the same year the blockchain project was founded. At the moment, during the listing period on crypto exchanges, the value of the LINK cryptocurrency reached its historic low, falling to $0.12. However, the LINK cryptocurrency rate settled at around $0.19 almost immediately after the listing and began growing.
This was facilitated by a favorable period in the crypto market in the second half of 2017 when many cryptocurrencies updated their absolute highs time after time — the same happened with Chainlink. In October of the same year, the value of Chainlink rose to $0.43, then quickly corrected, reaching a local low of $0.16 in December before resuming its growth.
In January 2018, the Chainlink cryptocurrency set a new price record, reaching $1.23 — this was the peak of the bull market, when Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies reached new price highs that they could later renew only 3-4 years later.
After reaching a new ATH, the price of Chainlink began to fall rapidly, as did quotes for almost all cryptocurrencies on the market. This meant the beginning of a new cycle in the crypto market called "crypto winter". In just one month, the price of cryptocurrency LINK fell about three times, and already in February 2018, it fell to $0.41. However, after that, the cost of LINK began to grow rapidly again and reached $0.77 in the same month.
By April, the Chainlink price had fallen to a local low of $0.26, almost 80% below the current all-time high. Then the price rose again and reached a two-month high of $0.58 in May, followed by a new phase of decline that lasted until the end of June 2018. Then the value of the cryptocurrency LINK reached a two-year low of $0.17, after which it resumed growth.
Chainlink's new growth cycle and the DeFi boom
The period from 2019 to 2021 was the most favorable for the Chainlink cryptocurrency; throughout this cycle, its rate reached new price highs. For example, from May to July 2019, the LINK cryptocurrency exchange rate updated ATH twice: first at $1.33 and then at $3.53.
Then, after a brief correction, which lasted until the beginning of 2020, when the rate of the asset fell to $1.80, the value of Chainlink again began to increase and, in March, reached a new all-time high — $4.64. However, in the same month, against the background of the official start of the pandemic, the price of cryptocurrency LINK sharply collapsed almost to its previous value — $1.89.
Despite this, almost immediately, the rate of LINK, as well as most other major cryptocurrencies, began to grow sharply and, over the next few months, repeatedly updated the historical highs: in August, the value of this cryptocurrency reached $17.35. In the following month, the LINK exchange rate corrected, but by the end of the month, it resumed its growth.
In the period from October 2020 to May 2021, the price of the cryptocurrency LINK actively grew and updated its ATH several times: first at $33.27 in February, and then at $52.88 in May, which is the current historical maximum of Chainlink as of October 2024.
After reaching the last ATH for the time being, the value of the LINK cryptocurrency began to fall sharply and already reached $13.75 in July of the same year, 2021. Then, a new wave of growth started in the crypto market. Although the quotes of Bitcoin and some major altcoins could renew their absolute maximums, the Chainlink rate could only grow to $34.75 in November.
Protracted correction and a new period of growth (2022 — 2024)
Next, a new global correction phase began in the crypto market, with the LINK cryptocurrency exchange rate first falling to $17.31 in April 2022 and then to $7.21 in May following the collapse of the infamous Terra blockchain platform, which caused many digital asset prices to plummet.
For the remainder of 2022 and early 2023, the Chainlink exchange rate mostly ranged between $5 and $9. The LINK price then resumed its upward trajectory amid the general rise of the crypto market, reaching a two-year high of $21.29 in March 2024.
Following this, the LINK price returned to a correction, falling to $11.2 by October 2024. This fall was not prevented by the news about the plans of the world-famous Grayscale fund, which earlier launched Bitcoin-ETF and Ethereum-ETF, to launch its closed-end trust fund based on the Chainlink blockchain.
