Chainlink Faces Correction Threat to $7 Amid Weak Derivatives Activity

• The Chainlink price in relief rally reveals the formation of a classic bearish continuation pattern called inverted flag.
• Chainlink acquired approximately 137,000 LINK tokens on February 19, 2026, marking its third purchase this month.
• The open interest associated with LINK futures contracts have reduced 43% since January, suggesting a significant drop in traders interest in the leverage market.

LINK, the fifteenth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, showcased low volatility trading during Thursday’s U.S. market hours to trade at $8.6. A neutral candle formation in Chainlink price reflects the broader market uncertainty and lack of initiation from buyers or sellers to drive a sustained move. Despite the risk of prolonged correction, Chainlink’s reserve program highlights a continued accumulation of their token, bolstering the network’s long-term sustainability .

Chainlink Treasury Strategy Strengthens Despite Falling Trader Participation 

Chainlink has been continuing to build its strategic token holdings with a new acquisition of about 137,000 LINK tokens on February 19, 2026. This latest inflow is the third addition for the month.

There are now about 2.17 million LINK tokens in the reserve. At current market levels, this amounts to a value of approximately $18.8 million USD. The aggregated acquisition price for all the accumulated tokens is $14.84 per LINK.

This reserve works by taking revenue streams and using them to buy LINK. Funds are generated from two primary sources: payments received off-chain by major corporate users integrating Chainlink services, and direct fees generated on-chain whenever the network’s oracles and related tools process transactions.

However, the derivative market showed a significant reduction in traders activity associated with LINK tokens. According to Coinglass data, the open interest tied to LINK futures contracts has dropped from around $708 million in earlier January to current value of $400 million, accounting for a loss of 43%.

The initial downswing in OI can be attributed to cascading liquidation of long positioned traders. While the continued drop implement a decrease in leverage and involvement of traders in LINK perpetuals and dated contracts.

Chainlink Price In Relief Rally Face A Risk of Major Breakdown

In the last two weeks, the Chainlink price shows a short rebound from $7.18 low to current trading value of $8.58. While this upswing followed the general relief rally in the broader market, the LINK price showed its trading activity strictly within two ascending trendlines.

The prevailing downturn detonated by a downsloping pole and bullish upswing resonating within two converging trendlines revealed the formation of a classic bearish continuation pattern called inverted flag. Typically, the chart setup occurs within an established downtrend where such temporary upswing follows sellers to replenish the prevailing bearish momentum.

If the coin price breaks below the bottom trendline, the selling pressure will accelerate and push the LINK to $8 support, followed by $7 floor.

However, the momentum indicator ADX spike to 61% indicates that sellers could soon hit exhaustion if the current pace of market selling persists. Thus, the coin buyers could attempt to reclaim the breach trendline of the flag pattern to invalidate the bearish thesis. 

If materialized, the coin price would challenge the upper boundary of flag to further strengthen its grip over this asset.

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