While it may have felt like the world as we know it was collapsing when FTX’s collapse essentially triggered a run on the sector toward the back end of 2022 – the industry has come out swinging as a collective unit, helping to catapult Bitcoin back to all-time highs. Bitcoin isn’t just the most visible asset in the space; it is also seen as a haven, the mothership if you will – when it moves forward, it brings the whole market along for the party – and when it crashes, we know what happens.
Bitcoin has risen to such an astonishing market cap that the idea it could do 10x from here is unlikely, despite a colossal inflow from traditional financial institutions via SEC-approved ETFs and names like BlackRock taking a seat at the proverbial table.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts and investors zoom out of the dominance of BTC and ETH during a bull run. While they can act as catalysts and help to paint a reasonably accurate picture of where the overall market might head, investors who have been to this rodeo before know that a lot of the significant gains often happen with smaller-cap cryptocurrencies.
What Is ChainLink? (LINK)
ChainLink is a pioneering project that allows companies and institutions not connected to the blockchain to connect with projects that are. Using smart contracts built on the Ethereum network, ChainLink facilitates a route whereby companies with very little or no connection to cryptocurrency can securely access and store external data via the blockchain.
Although this is a simple definition of what it offers – recent developments over the last six months have meant that many investors have been keeping an eye on the price action and speculating that it could have legs in the upcoming market.
ChainLink’s VRF provider (Verifiable Random Function) allows smart contracts to generate random, provably fair outcomes. The most obvious use case of ChainLink’s VRF is casino platforms that use Bitcoin as their primary payment method. Given the explosion in the number of cryptocurrency gambling platforms, ChainLink’s VRF can facilitate provably fair games and ensure these types of gaming platforms remain decentralized and provably fair.
Alongside AI, Bitcoin casino gaming could be the catalyst that brings people into the space en masse—thus fuelling a significant chunk of the bull run. Cryptocurrency casinos provide a real use case for Chainlink’s technology. If they can win the battle and their VRF can become a serious play in the underlying technology for crypto gambling, this could be the catalyst for a bullrun narrative.
Bitcoin casinos offer a method whereby bettors can withdraw and deposit their funds immediately through the blockchain; they do not have to wait for payments to be authorized via their bank account or e-wallets; they simply sign it in their wallet and transact instantly. By increasing transaction speed and maintaining security, Bitcoin casinos could be the primary use case that takes the whole crypto market cap to undiscovered heights – and ChainLink’s technology could be the spark that ignites it all.
The Top Five Altcoins – How Does Link Compare?
In terms of market cap, ChainLink is at number 15 – the top five being Ethereum, obviously, BNB, Solana, XRP and Dogecoin. Ultimately, ChainLink has to have its sights set on the last two, and despite Elon Musk flirting with the idea of adding Dogecoin as a payment method on X or Twitter, it’s still unlikely that he would put in a plan to make crypto with no utility a payment system on such a vast platform. He will likely opt for one of the more traditional big dogs like Bitcoin or Ethereum – but who truly knows with Elon?
If this doesn’t happen, expect ChainLink to make some rapid ground on it. Likewise, with XRP embroiled in a never-ending battle with the SEC, they could also see themselves losing the momentum they gained following the successful verdict in the case last year. The SEC has hit back and slapped Brad Garlinghouse and the rest of the Ripple executive board with a $2 billion fine, which will hamper the company going into the next prospective bull run.
Final Thoughts
Link would have to reach the $45 (current price is around $15) range to equal Doge’s current market cap, and it’d have to reach around $65-70 to hit XRP’s. Of course, whenever these seismic changes occur, the ones in the ascendancy also begin to lose their market cap—and other coins like AVAX and SHIB would also dive in price—but stranger things have happened, definitely in crypto.
With some analysts speculating the price could enter the three-figure range, there are definitely a lot less likely occurrences in crypto than ChainLink becoming a top-five altcoin. However, if we had to say, we’d say it’s unlikely to reach the top five, but we could see some decent price action if Bitcoin surpasses $100,000 and drags everything else along for the ride.
Suppose it can capitalize on the innovative updates and its VRF and automation systems. In that case, it will be able to significantly impact the broader industry, attracting institutional investments via hedge funds and other traditional powerhouses like investment banks. It could force its way into the top six or seven, but there’d have to be a big slice of luck for it to dislodge the likes of XRP – given that it’s currently 5x the market cap of LINK.
