27 June 2025

We are slowly, but surely, moving up! While geo-political scares have impacted crypto’s growth, they haven't been able to curtail the enthusiasm of Bitcoin buyers – spot ETFs continue to get strong inflows and retail adoption of Bitcoin is strengthening. Maybe end of June won’t be a damp squib after all?

Altcoins, however, haven’t been quite convincing this year. Bitcoin dominance is now nearing 66% - and we thought it wouldn’t go beyond 60%!

Some of them have started outperforming though and are setting the stage up for stronger gains once altseason hits. In today’s Hot Take, we cover Chainlink – one such altcoin.

Top-3 stories of the week:

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2

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The newsletter is put together by Giottus Crypto Platform. You can read all the previous issues of Cryptogram here.

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WEEKLY MACROS

• Total crypto market cap - $3.28 trillion - UP 0.9%    

• Bitcoin price - $107,380 - UP 2.5%

• The dollar index (DXY) - 97.33 - DOWN 1.3%

• Bitcoin Dominance - 65.87% -  UP 1.5%

• Crypto Fear and Greed Index - 65 - Market is in Greed

THE HOT TAKE

Chainlink & Mastercard: Connecting Billions to Crypto

Chainlink has teamed up with payments giant Mastercard in a groundbreaking partnership that could bring over three billion cardholders/cards directly into the crypto world. Announced just days ago, the collaboration lets everyday users purchase digital assets on-chain using fiat currency, simply by swiping their Mastercard.

The announcement sent LINK up above $13, instilling market confidence in easier on-ramps. By bringing fiat-to-crypto conversions into familiar payment flows, this collaboration bridges traditional finance and DeFi without forcing users to learn new tools.

Seamless on-chain purchases: How it works

Making crypto purchases with a card feels straightforward for users, but under the hood, a chain of services works in concert to make it happen. The process involves multiple integrated partners, each handling a piece of the transaction flow.

• Shift4 acts as the payment processor, swiping the Mastercard and initiating the card payment on the traditional side

• Zerohash steps in to convert the user’s fiat (e.g. dollars) into crypto – it provides the regulated custody and liquidity, effectively managing the currency swap behind the scenes

• Meanwhile, Swapper (XSwap) and decentralized exchange Uniswap handle the on-chain token swap

Once Zerohash has the fiat-to-crypto conversion ready, those crypto funds are swapped for the desired digital asset via liquidity pools on Uniswap, all coordinated through XSwap’s DeFi trading interface. These collaborations ensure that when a user clicks “Buy,” the card payment is processed, fiat is securely turned into crypto, and the crypto asset is delivered to the user – all in one streamlined flow.

Price performance and volume trends

LINK soared nearly 21% over the past week, climbing from roughly $11.26 to $13.64 after news of the Mastercard partnership broke. That move reversed much of its 2025 decline - LINK was down 58% year-to-date before the spike - and put it back atop key resistance around $13. Trading volume exploded in tandem, with daily turnover hitting over $365 million.

Looking ahead, we have to watch if LINK can hold above $13 on lighter volume once the immediate hype fades. A successful retest could set the stage for a move toward $15, while a failure risks a return to the $11–$12 range.

On-chain activity and network health

On-chain metrics have ticked higher alongside price. IntoTheBlock data shows LINK’s daily active addresses climbing by over 10% week-over-week as more wallets interact with staking and cross-chain contracts. Over the past month, Chainlink added 7,903 new non-zero wallets, pushing the total holder count to 769,380, a 1.05% increase that marks a fresh all-time high.

Holder growth has accelerated since March, rising from roughly 740,000 to 769,380 in just three months, a 4.0% jump in Q2 vs. 2.1% in Q1—signalling a surge of both new investors and existing users diversifying their addresses.

Meanwhile, the number of smart-contract calls routed through Chainlink’s oracle network has held near its 30-day highs, reflecting continued DeFi usage across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon.

For traders, rising on-chain addresses and contract calls suggest that LINK isn’t just pumping on news but it’s also being used. As adoption of DeFi protocols and cross-chain apps grows, LINK’s utility to secure those feeds and messages should support longer-term demand. Keep an eye on these metrics: sustained high activity is a bullish signal, whereas a rapid drop-off could precede profit-taking.

Partnership-driven catalysts

Beyond Mastercard, Puffer Finance launched live CCIP bridging on June 20, letting assets move securely between Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, and Solana via Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol. Each new bridge ties more liquidity to LINK’s network fees, indirectly boosting token utility. Smaller retail traders who use multi-chain DeFi stand to benefit from smoother transfers, and LINK’s role in that flow underpins its value.

Also, SWIFT and Visa pilots continue behind closed doors, showing institutions are experimenting with tokenized bonds and CBDCs using Chainlink tech. While these moves may not spark immediate price pumps, they provide a bullish narrative that underlies long-term confidence in LINK’s real-world relevance.

Regulatory shifts and market sentiment

US Senate’s approval of the GENIUS Act for stablecoin regulation has ripple effects for oracle providers like Chainlink, since regulated stablecoins will need reliable price feeds and compliance oracles. A clearer regulatory framework often translates to institutional wallet inflows into LINK, viewed as essential infrastructure.

Retail traders should watch US SEC moves on crypto custody rules: any mandate requiring vetted oracles could cement Chainlink’s market share. Positive regulatory headlines often coincide with LINK rallies, as seen this week - the partnership news overlapped with Senate progress on crypto bills, creating a one-two punch for price.

Key Takeaway

Chainlink’s recent data shows clear signs of growing interest and real use. New non-zero wallets hit an all-time high, trading and staking activity remain strong, and LINK’s price jumped on the Mastercard news. At the same time, pilots with SWIFT and Visa and the rollout of cross-chain bridges mean Chainlink is moving from a niche service into everyday finance. For retail traders, these trends point to genuine demand for LINK and set the stage for further gains as more users and institutions tap into its network.

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If you have any questions or feedback for us, write to us at [email protected]. You can check out the previous issues here.

Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Please do your own research before investing and seek independent legal/financial advice if you are unsure about the investments.