LINKUSDT
Chainlink / Tether USD
crypto Composite

A few weeks ago Bitcoin hit record number of small transactions. Blockchain is still being used, like LINK is doing badle but it powers Polymarket which is extremely successful. The problem is that chain value doesnt translate to token value. :) I work in the industry.

AAVE and LINK

These are the ones i've landed on for the next run. (summaries made with help from Gemini)
**Internet Computer Protocol (ICP)**
Technology wise this is the most interesting.​Internet Computer Protocol is a decentralized network designed to host smart contracts at web speed, effectively acting as a borderless world computer. It recreates the entire back-end of the internet, allows developers to build and run apps entirely on the blockchain, and eliminating the need for centralized corporate cloud infrastructure.
**​Hyperliquid**
​Hyperliquid is a high-performance decentralized perpetual exchange (DEX) built on a custom Layer 1 blockchain optimized specifically for trading. It delivers the speed, low fees, and deep liquidity of a centralized exchange while preserving complete user self-custody.
**​Chainlink (LINK)**
​Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that securely connects blockchain smart contracts with external data sources, APIs, and traditional payment systems. It is important because it provides the essential, tamper-proof data bridge required for most decentralized finance (DeFi) and real-world asset applications to function. Pretty much everything uses Chainlink.
**​Bittensor (TAO)**
​Bittensor is a decentralized marketplace and protocol for training, sharing, and utilizing machine learning models. It crowdsources artificial intelligence development, creating an open, collaborative alternative to the closed-door AI monopolies of giant tech corporations.
**​Render (RENDER)**
​Render is a decentralized network that connects digital creators needing massive computational power with individuals who have idle GPU resources. It radically democratizes access to high-end rendering and AI processing, making digital content creation much cheaper and more scalable.
**​Akash Network (AKT)**
​Akash is a decentralized, open-source cloud computing marketplace where users can securely buy and sell computing power. It is important because it offers a highly competitive, censorship-resistant, and permissionless alternative to traditional cloud monopolies like AWS or Google Cloud.
**​Arweave (AR)**
​Arweave is a decentralized storage network that offers permanent, immutable data hosting through a one-time, upfront payment. It acts as a permanent collective memory (the "permaweb"), ensuring that valuable historical records, apps, and data can never be deleted or altered.

$LINK

I think real capital and institutions will come **and use LINK**, I'm just not convinced we will see LINK reprice accordingly. This is one of the biggest challenges of investing in general, stock prices and crypto prices do not always correlate with utility or usage.
25% capped at one billion but released at 7% per year is still 7% inflation, even if the remaining excess supply will be used up in 3 years.

https://chain.link/circulating-supply
There’s 25% left capped at 1 billion. It’s crazy that you think this outweighs all their other accolades.
\>I don't think the price of LINK will necessarily reflect that for a while.
Your alternative is waiting for retail to be the primary driver of DeFi valuations. Where exactly do you think the value is supposed to come from? Without real capital flows and institutional participation, this industry isn’t revisiting those peak era valuations again, let alone surpassing them.

Thank you for your comment! That really did expose how little I know about chainlink, so I will have to look into it more.
We've had about two Ethereum cycles, one in 2021 and one in 2024 and chainlink did really well compared to other altcoins in **both cycles**. The only other coin that did well in both cycles was AAVE (although AAVE performed better than chainlink). **So I hear you**, chainlink is an excellent coin.
That being said, there is a large non-circulating supply that is currently being released to the tune of 7% per year. This will almost certainly dilute LINK's value. You're also relying on "The potential scale of tokenized real world assets", but it will take a long time, more than 3 years, for those assets to come onboard.
So until LINK's inflation comes down and until more RWAs come onboard, I don't think LINK's price will live up to the potential. I think it's not the token to get gains for the 2028 halving cycle..... but maybe it will be good for the 2032 one.
Also, I'm not convinced Link has strong enough social network effects to lock in usage. But I'll admit I'm not as confident about that though, I need to become more of a LINK nerd and do more research.

My personal opinion is that most alts are useless. LINK and HYPE are probably the only ones I still have some amount of faith in because of the use case and tokenomics (mainly hype). Stock markets and ai names sucked a lot of the liquidity and going from more grassroots to now mainstream hurts the retail driven cycles we had in the past where alts would randomly explode 50%. We fighting wall street algos now not just each other 🤣

\>Chainlink competes with them for dollars of investment. Why put those dollars in LINK as opposed to AAVE?
Because Chainlink isn't limited to one protocol and also not to just DeFi. Its infrastructure is already being integrated and tested by major TradFi institutions and networks like Swift and the DTCC. The potential scale of tokenized real world assets and institutional settlement rails is orders of magnitude larger than what exists on public blockchains today.
\>I think that reliance does not necessarily equal market capture. Reliable information (like price information) is like a commodity and that makes chainlink a commodity provider.
Chainlink services are not free.
\>But the best apps will likely rely on multiple sources for data and not depend just on chainlink.
Doubt it. AAVE has become the poster boy for secure DeFi largely because it's relied on Chainlink from the very beginning. AAVE is moving to rely exclusively on Chainlink after the $300M exploit involving LayerZero.
https://x.com/aave/status/2038727176699117683?s=20
At a certain point, splitting critical oracle dependencies across multiple providers creates more complexity than value. Chainlink has secured tens of trillions of dollars in transaction value and has maintained a perfect track record.
\>Uniswap, for example, built its own in house oracle, which means Uniswap doesn't need chainlink to function, even though they often complement each other.
Uniswap created their own TWAP oracle by it only works for on-chain price data derived from Uniswap trading activity. It doesn’t fetch or verify external real-world data like chainlink.
\>Market capture does not necessarily translate to token price. Chainlink has a 7% inflation rate while AAVE has not just no inflation but a targeted buyback program.
Chainlink also has a buy back program.
https://metrics.chain.link/reserve
\>On the contrary, AAVE and Ethereum have less inflation, but also they have network effects.
How does chainlink not have network effects? lol Chainlink dominates the oracle space which little to no competition because they can’t compete with Chainlink.
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/05/15/lombard-joins-layerzero-exodus-as-usd4-billion-in-assets-switch-to-chainlink-s-bridge
Serious protocols switch to chainlink not other way around. Once a protocol integrates Chainlink, they stay because they recognize its unmatched security.
You seem to think Chainlink is only a price oracle, which is a major flaw in your argument. Chainlink's value extends far beyond just price feeds. Major institutions like Swift and DTCC are integrating Chainlink’s broader infrastructure stack (Chainlink CRE), which includes CCIP for cross-chain messaging and interoperability. They're not adopting Chainlink because of price feeds alone they're leveraging their entire suite of services designed to connect and move data and assets across different blockchains and traditional financial systems.
https://www.dtcc.com/news/2026/may/12/dtcc-collaborates-with-chainlink-to-advance-24-7-collateral-management

First, I think Chainlink is an excellent coin and will do excellent in the next bull market. That being said.....
> Chainlink doesn't compete with them
Chainlink competes with them for dollars of investment. Why put those dollars in LINK as opposed to AAVE?
> AAVE infrastructure relies heavily on Chainlink and so does every major dapp on Ethereum.
Agree. However, there are two problems.
1) I think that reliance does not necessarily equal market capture. Reliable information (like price information) is like a commodity and that makes chainlink a commodity provider. But the best apps will likely rely on multiple sources for data and not depend just on chainlink. Uniswap, for example, built its own in house oracle, which means Uniswap doesn't need chainlink to function, even though they often complement each other.
2) Market capture does not necessarily translate to token price. Chainlink has a 7% inflation rate while AAVE has not just no inflation but a targeted buyback program. This is why I didn't buy Morpho, Morpho is a fast growing competitor to AAVE but also has high inflation.
In short, I don't think LINK has network effects and it is a bad deal when it comes to price dilution.
On the contrary, AAVE and Ethereum have less inflation, but also they have network effects. People NEED to diversify their information from LINK alone in order to get the most information value. On the other hand, I think users of Ethereum or AAVE will tend to stick to Ethereum or AAVE, unless they need to change. This is because users of Ethereum or AAVE have to trust their transactions will go through and their loans will be paid back, which creates more user lock-in.

I would keep BTC, ETH if you like it, SOL, and LINK just in case clarity act passes, one day. I'd definitely sell all the other ones, maybe not now, but they're not things I'd like to keep long term.

I first joined crypto in March 2022. March 29 specifically. I had a basic understanding of the fundamentals however was no where near smart enough to grasp the understanding of the market’s volatility. I spent time coming in and out of involvement, with the May 2022 crash coming just four weeks after loading my bags. I didn’t sell, I held and accumulated until I was at a point where I felt I was mentally prepared to sell for a much less loss than I would’ve. I used that as a lesson and decided to pick two projects that were my foundation. Solana for one and BTC for the other. Unfortunately as is expected, the fomo and lack of knowledge played into making unnecessary decisions and adjustments but I stuck it out and by last year I had such a better understanding of the basics that you need to know. I ended up selling everything off late last year in preparation for starting from scratch come the winter. Of course there is no crystal ball, but I came to my own conclusions of when I would start getting back in and here I am. Whilst I don’t plan on buying anything for the next month or so (unless of course there’s a clearance sale…) but I am daily watching BTC and SOL charts, whilst saving up so I can start to DCA in when I feel comfortable in what I’m seeing. A lot of projects will not be the same once the market does recover. JUP is one I am watching and have been for a while, as well as LINK.
Feel free too add advice or experience or even just your similar experience! I’d love to hear from those who started around my time and what you learnt from these 4 years. I was always aware I would not make myself set in the first go but at 22 when starting and 26 now, I am excited for the future with my new perspective.