Is LINK reacting favorably to Chainlink’s latest upgrade?

• Chainlink has launched the v0.2 upgrade on the network.
• Demand for LINK has seen a decline in the last two weeks.

Leading oracle network Chainlink [LINK] has announced the mainnet launch of the v0.2 upgrade of its native staking mechanism. 

#Chainlink Staking v0.2 is officially live on mainnet ⬡

Starting today, existing v0.1 stakers have a nine-day window to migrate their staked LINK and accrued rewards to the 45M LINK v0.2 pool, with guaranteed access before Early Access begins.

🧵https://t.co/pcFAVXct3L

— Chainlink (@chainlink) November 28, 2023

The upgrade comes eleven months after the protocol first introduced staking on its network in December 2022. 

According to the press release dated 28th November, Chainlink noted that the v0.2 upgrade comes with an expansion of the staking pool size to 45 million LINK.

This represents 8% of the altcoin’s current circulating supply and a 96% increase from the 22.5 million LINK that was allotted to the staking pool when the staking mechanism first launched last December.

Chainlink added that there is a nine-day priority migration period, which began on 28th November. During this period, existing v0.1 stakers are allowed to move their staked LINK and accrued rewards to the new upgrade. 

Thereafter, there would be a four-day early access period wherein LINK holders who meet already-specified requirements can stake up to 15,000 LINK tokens. After this, access would be granted to the general public. 

How did LINK react?

With its price trapped within a narrow price range, LINK managed a 4% hike in the last 24 hours. At press time, the altcoin exchanged hands at $14.58, according to CoinMarketCap’s data. 

Due to the current consolidation, LINK accumulation has experienced a decline. An assessment of its key momentum indicators on a daily chart revealed that spot market participants have gradually stayed their hands from buying LINK since the middle of the month.

At press time, LINK’s Money Flow Index (MFI) rested below its center line and trended downward. This suggested that coin distribution exceeded accumulation. 

Likewise, the token’s Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) appeared poised to breach its center line and fall into negative territory at press time.

Realistic or not, here’s LINK’s market cap in BTC terms

The fall in LINK’s CMF showed that its spot market has been marred by a consistent liquidity exit in the past two weeks.

Source: LINK/USDT on TradingView

The token’s futures market is no different, as it has seen a steady decrease in open interest since 12th November. At $291.3 million at press time, LINK’s open interest has since fallen by 35%. 

Source: Coinglass