Bullish news for LINK holders! The price of LINK, the token of the leading decentralized oracle network Chainlink, surged to a 22-month high on Friday, breaking out of a three-month consolidation period.

LINK price surpassed $18, its highest level since April 3, 2022, registering a 15% gain on a 24-hour basis and nearly 30% in a week.

The rally marks a significant breakout from the $13-$17 range that LINK had been trading in for the past three months and signals a continuation of the recovery from its June 2023 lows near $5.

Why is LINK rising?

Chainlink has emerged as a critical component of the crypto industry infrastructure, connecting blockchains with real-world data through its oracles and extensive partnership network.

Chainlink's blockchain-agnostic infrastructure ensures compatibility with various blockchains and facilitates seamless and secure cross-chain asset transfer.

Traditional financial institutions require data, computation, and cross-chain capabilities to adopt blockchain and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) at scale. Chainlink's platform uniquely offers all three.

Analysts believe LINK is the safest way to capitalize on the growing tokenization of real-world assets narrative. The value of tokenized RWAs could reach $16 trillion by 2030.

Positive indicators:

The USD value locked in open futures contracts tied to LINK has more than doubled to a record $490 million, indicating an influx of new money into the LINK market.

Open interest in LINK futures has surged 62% to 27.51 million LINK.

An increase in open interest alongside a rising price confirms the bullish trend.

Funding rates in perpetual futures contracts remain positive but well below December highs, suggesting the market is not yet overheated on the bullish side.