Chainlink (LINK) despite reaching a bridging agreement with Coinbase, the price still dropped by 5%, but signs of bottoming out are beginning to appear

LINK price has dropped about 5% within 24 hours, even though Chainlink has just achieved a major integration: Coinbase has selected Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) as the bridging layer for its wrapped asset portfolio, which is widely valued at approximately $7 billion. Meanwhile, LINK fluctuates around the mid-$13 range, indicating that even with strong fundamentals, prices may experience short-term pressure due to broader risk appetite declines, forced liquidations, and technical pressures.

This article will continue to use Flow’s reference market analysis framework, focusing on traders’ actual needs—interpreting the significance of this partnership, why LINK is still declining, and what “bottoming signals” might look like if the market begins to stabilize. It will also introduce how to monitor LINK price movements using LINK/USDT spot and derivatives tools on Gate.

Price Performance of LINK After Coinbase Bridge Protocol Announcement

The key trend here is clear: LINK dropped about 5% within one day of announcing the bridging protocol. During this period, LINK/USDT showed significant intraday volatility, with bears pushing the price toward the lower end of the range, while buyers stepped in at lows before a complete breakdown.

This market structure is important because it reflects a tug-of-war between forced sellers and opportunistic buyers. In a choppy environment, “wide fluctuations with buying on dips” are often seen by traders as a potential sign of a local bottom—especially when volatility begins to converge over the next few trading days and the price reclaims key intraday levels.

Significance of Coinbase CCIP Bridge Protocol for LINK

Coinbase’s choice of Chainlink CCIP aims to upgrade scalability and security for its wrapped assets (such as wrapped Bitcoin or wrapped Ethereum products) across chains. Strategically, this reinforces Chainlink’s core logic: as on-chain finance expands across multiple networks, interoperability and secure messaging channels are becoming fundamental infrastructure components.

From a market narrative perspective, this partnership helps validate Chainlink’s positioning in cross-chain infrastructure, especially given that bridging-related risks have long been a frequently exploited vulnerability in the crypto space. If subsequent applications continue to develop, the narrative based on actual usage will be more resilient than short-lived hype, as it points to ongoing activity rather than one-off news.

However, traders should distinguish between “strategic significance” and “immediate price impact.” Even a strong partnership may take time to generate substantial trading volume, and in environments with tightening liquidity, markets often overlook positive news.

Why Is LINK Still Falling Despite Good News

It is not uncommon for LINK to decline after positive news, which is closely related to the operating mechanisms of the crypto market under pressure.

First, forced liquidations and passive deleveraging often suppress spot buying. When leveraged traders are forced out, the market can experience sharp sell-offs even if long-term prospects improve. At such times, short-term drivers are no longer about “fundamentals versus price,” but about margin dynamics and risk control.

Second, LINK has been under prolonged downward pressure, resulting in heavy overhead selling. This means that during rebounds, resistance levels tend to trigger selling, until the market confirms a structural shift through higher lows, stronger closes, and better continuation.

Third, headlines only impact prices when they change short-term position structures. Partnerships are usually seen as “future potential,” while prices focus more on “current” capital flows: liquidity, leverage, and risk appetite.

Signals That May Indicate LINK Is Bottoming

“Bottoming signals” are usually not a single indicator but a combination of conditions. Traders often look for multiple confirmations:

A common signal is momentum indicators shifting from oversold to stabilizing. After excessive selling pressure, the market often enters a phase of diminishing declines, cleaner rebounds, and converging volatility.

The second condition is weakening forced liquidation intensity. After passive selling peaks, even if prices haven’t rebounded, they may stop making new lows. The market often transitions from “panic selling” to “range-bound oscillation,” which is also an early stage of bottom formation.

The third condition involves changes in market participation structure: leverage expansion halts, open interest stabilizes, and spot buying becomes more prominent. In other words, the market is no longer primarily driven by derivatives liquidation but begins to be supported by genuine demand.

These signals do not guarantee a bottom, but when they occur together—especially near key support levels—the probability of a bottom increases significantly.

Key Levels Traders Focus on for LINK

Instead of forcing a single prediction, a more objective approach is to draw “if/then” key levels:

If LINK holds the $13 support zone and begins reclaiming nearby key levels, traders often see this as an early bottoming signal.

If LINK breaks below this support with a daily close continuing downward, the “bottoming” logic weakens, and the market will likely seek the next major demand zone.

If LINK reclaims and holds above nearby resistance, then a pullback is more likely to be viewed as a buying opportunity rather than a sign to exit.

Because LINK has high liquidity and attention, these changes are usually very evident in volume, candlestick structures, and whether the rebound can break above previous breakdown points.

How to Efficiently Track LINK and Use LINK/USDT Trading Tools

For users who want real-time monitoring and trading execution, Gate offers LINK/USDT spot and derivatives trading interfaces, making it easy to track prices, depth, and volatility.

On Gate, a practical LINK trading process typically includes:

Using the LINK/USDT spot chart to mark the previous day’s high and low ranges, observing whether LINK shows volatility convergence after declines. Convergence after forced liquidations often signals a potential directional reversal.

Cross-check order book and spread. If the spread narrows and buy orders persist at support levels, this is usually more constructive than a weak rebound alone.

When using derivatives, be cautious of liquidation-driven moves. During deleveraging phases, prices may overshoot in both directions, and risk control is often more important than rushing into trades.

Is LINK Near the Bottom or Still in a Downtrend?

Despite the Coinbase CCIP bridge positive outlook, LINK continues to retrace, reminding us that prices are often just a vote on short-term liquidity conditions rather than a real-time assessment of fundamentals. This integration further consolidates Chainlink’s position in cross-chain infrastructure and wrapped asset circulation, but whether “bottoming signals” are valid depends on subsequent performance: reduced liquidation pressure, stabilized momentum, and whether LINK can hold key supports while reclaiming nearby resistance.

In the short term, traders should treat LINK as a market condition-based trading opportunity rather than a certain trend: set clear stop-loss points, patiently wait for structural improvements, and let the market prove whether downside pressure has truly eased.