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Chainlink has unlocked 19 million LINK tokens worth $269 million as part of its routine quarterly release. While this isn’t unusual, the latest unlock has sparked interest due to a high-profile trader’s recent actions on the Hyperliquid platform.

Where Did the Unlocked LINK Go?

Out of the 19 million LINK tokens, 14.875 million LINK ($212.9 million) were transferred to Binance, likely to boost liquidity, as most LINK trading volume occurs there.

Chainlink just released 19M $LINK ($269M) as part of its quarterly unlock in the past hour.

🔹 14.875M $LINK ($212.9M) was sent to #Binance
🔹 4.125M $LINK ($56.2M) was transferred to multi-sig wallet "0xD50"

Since August 2022, @chainlink has unlocked 176M $LINK (then $2B, now… https://t.co/jlmde9EIlu pic.twitter.com/rVmYORusRZ

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) March 14, 2025

The remaining 4.125 million LINK ($56.2 million) moved to a multi-signature wallet (0xD50), following Chainlink’s usual distribution strategy.

Key LINK Unlock Stats:

📌 Since August 2022, Chainlink has unlocked 176 million LINK ($2.43B current value).
📌 151.3 million LINK have been deposited to Binance at an average price of $11.41.
📌 Chainlink still holds 342.5 million LINK ($4.7B) in non-circulating supply contracts.

This ongoing strategy aims to maintain liquidity and support trading volume, reinforcing LINK’s role in the crypto ecosystem.

High-Profile Trader Shifts Focus to LINK

On-chain data from Lookonchain reveals that a well-known whale, dubbed “ETH 50x Big Guy,” has recently made bold moves in LINK trading.

This whale is long $LINK on #Hyperliquid and #GMX, with a position size of ~$31M.

He also spent 12.1M $USDC to buy 863,174 $LINK at $14.https://t.co/SncLPnog4vhttps://t.co/3fXA7ctoOh pic.twitter.com/kx7WWCiJ4R

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 14, 2025

Whale’s Trading Activity:

🔹 Opened a $31,000 long position on LINK with 10x leverage.
🔹 Executed trades on Hyperliquid and GMX.
🔹 Purchased 863,174 LINK ($12.1 million USDC).
🔹 Gradually swapped LINK into stablecoins just hours after opening the position.

This trader gained notoriety after a $4 million leveraged trade loss on Hyperliquid. Following this, the platform announced risk management updates to prevent similar large-scale liquidations.

Hyperliquid Tightens Trading Rules

To address risks from large leveraged trades, Hyperliquid will update margin requirements starting March 15.

To date, Hyperliquid has processed over $1 trillion in trading volume and become the first DEX to rival CEX scale. As volume and open interest continue to grow, there are increasingly large tests for the margining system. Yesterday’s event highlighted an opportunity to strengthen…

— Hyperliquid (@HyperliquidX) March 13, 2025

🔸 Traders must maintain a 20% margin ratio on margin transfers.
🔸 Cross-margin trading will remain unaffected unless usage exceeds 5x after opening an isolated position.
🔸 The update aims to reduce market impact from large trades while still allowing up to 40x leverage.

LINK Price Rebounds Despite Market Volatility

Despite these major transactions, Chainlink’s price rose 4% in the last 24 hours, reaching $13.90. This recovery follows a 12% weekly decline and a 27% drop over the past month.

With whale activity, ongoing token burns, and market adjustments, LINK remains a closely watched asset in the crypto space.