Chainlink’s largest cohort of active owners has sharply increased its exposure to LINK over the past month, according to Santimento, who says the move could indicate a tightening of supply if broader market conditions remain favorable. The signal in the chain stands out because the buying took place while LINK was trading in a relatively muted range, not during an obvious breakout.
Saintly he said May 7 that “key ChainLink stakeholders holding between 100K-10M LINK have aggressively accumulated over the past month.” The analytics firm added that “these whales and sharks have accumulated 32.93 million more coins (+7.7% increase) in just one month.”
Why Santiment is focused on Chainlink Whales
The key point in Santimento’s announcement is not just that the big holders are buying, but that this specific band of wallets can tell more than a generic whale metric. As Santiment said, “What makes this accumulation particularly significant is who is buying. Wallets in the 100,000 to 10,000,000 LINK range represent ChainLink’s most active and committed cohort. They are large enough to move significant capital, but not so large as to be exchange-controlled custodial accounts.”
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If the buying were concentrated in obvious stock market addresses, the signal would be harder to read as a directional bet. Instead, Santiment presents this cohort as a group of discretionary large holders whose behavior can reveal conviction at times when price action itself looks inconclusive.
A chart shared by Santiment shows the balance held by 100,000 to 10 million LINK wallets climbing steadily through early May, even as LINK itself remained near lows. Santiment specifically argued that the point is in the moment. “Historically, when this specific layer accumulates aggressively, it tends to precede price appreciation rather than react to it. Unlike retail buyers who typically chase momentum, these stakeholders absorb supply during periods of price suppression.”
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The company then linked that historical pattern directly to the current setup: “This is exactly what the chart shows was happening during the first quarter of 2026 as LINK traded sideways near multi-month lows.” This is a stronger interpretation than simply recording growing balance sheets. Santiment effectively argues that the market has not yet fully reflected the accumulation seen on the chain.
The bid squeeze argument
Santimento’s announcement goes further to frame the move as an early stage of a possible supply cut. “The picture on the chain this paints is a classic supply squeeze in early formation,” the company wrote. “With 32.93 million additional LINKs now locked in strong hands and collective holdings from this cohort reaching an all-time high, the available supply of liquidity on exchanges is facing increasing pressure.”
That is the clearest conclusion from the post. If more LINKs are moving into wallets that are viewed as dedicated holders, and less of it is immediately available for sale, then the new demand could have a greater impact on the price than it otherwise would. Santimento’s conclusion is conditional, not absolute: “If Bitcoin and market conditions continue their upward momentum, the combination of reduced supply on the sell side and already increased bullish belief could accelerate price discovery sharply to the upside.”
At press time, LINK was trading at $9.86.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
