Bitcoin opened the new week below $80,000, with its short-term rally temporarily pausing. In contrast, the Chainlink token LINK showed significant strength, rising against the backdrop of generally sideways or declining movements across major crypto assets, becoming one of the top-performing tokens among the top ten.
LINK rises to its highest level in nearly eight months
As of September 7, LINK rose to a high of $13.64, reaching its highest level since January 18, with a 24-hour gain of approximately 6.8%. The derivatives market also saw increased activity, with LINK contract open interest climbing to $784 million, a new 11-month high.
A direct catalyst attracting market attention came from Chainlink’s disclosed partnership last week. Payment and funds management provider Bottomline stated it will connect its existing systems to public and private blockchain settlement networks via Chainlink’s infrastructure. The company is one of the key providers in the SWIFT services space, serving over 600 banks and processing payments exceeding $16 trillion annually.
Bottomline integrates with the Chainlink system
According to the disclosure, Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) will be responsible for transferring tokenized asset value between different blockchains, while the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) will coordinate payment processes, including path distribution and confirmation.
For banks, the key advantage of this arrangement is that there is no need to rebuild existing messaging systems. Banks can continue using ISO 20022 standard messages to send cross-border payment instructions, with Chainlink serving primarily as an underlying connectivity layer to blockchain settlement. Reports indicate that neither the official launch date nor the list of participating banks has been disclosed.
Bitcoin is currently facing resistance above $80,000.
Bitcoin has continued its range-bound movement at elevated levels. After a significant surge in August, BTC has failed twice in the past two weeks to break above $82,000, and opened this week still under pressure below $80,000. The report notes that the market is closely watching two key macro catalysts this month: the latest inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on September 16.
Beyond this latest collaboration, Chainlink’s engagement with traditional financial institutions is not new. In 2023, SWIFT partnered with Chainlink and over a dozen institutions, including Citigroup and BNY Mellon, to conduct interoperability tests connecting tokenized assets to the Ethereum Sepolia testnet. Additionally, it was reported that Charles Schwab included Chainlink among the newly supported assets when it announced an expansion of its retail crypto trading offerings at the end of August.
Amid a confluence of positive factors, LINK has surged 57% over the past 30 days, standing out significantly against the backdrop of recent slowing trends among major cryptocurrencies.