Key Insights:

• Chainlink (LINK) trends third in the crypto space, following a 20% value surge.
• Despite steady performance, Ethereum (ETH) is poised for a potential comeback.
• Santiment report suggests now is a good time to purchase ETH.

Santiment, a prominent blockchain intelligence firm, highlights Chainlink as a recent hot topic in the ever-evolving cryptocurrency world. LINK has garnered significant attention, becoming the third trending subject in the crypto space. Surging by an impressive 20% within the last 48 hours, the cryptocurrency achieved a three-month peak of $8.34.

?? #Chainlink is the #3 trending topic in #crypto after an impressive +20% day, returning to its highest price ($8.34) in 3 months. Thursday had $347.72M in $LINK on-chain volume, the largest of 2023. #FOMO could be the only obstacle holding it from $10. https://t.co/kNTvo6Pibg pic.twitter.com/f57RtOH3I5

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) July 21, 2023

In addition, this notable price climb was paired with a substantial rise in trading activity. Yesterday, LINK recorded an on-chain volume of approximately $347.72 million, marking the highest volume this year. Consequently, Santiment predicts that LINK’s price will reach $10 in the short term.

Despite a slight drop from its three-month high, LINK was trading at $8.10 at the time of writing. Significantly, the cryptocurrency managed to maintain a 17.43% increase. Besides its performance against the Dollar, LINK also outperformed market leaders Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) by 17.40% and 16.98%, respectively.

Ethereum (ETH) Set for a Potential Rebound

However, while LINK experienced a price surge, Ethereum (ETH) remained steady, consolidating at around $1,895. Despite this, Santiment’s latest market insights suggest that ETH will return to above $2K and rise even higher in the coming weeks.

? #Ethereum is sitting rather quietly at $1,895 while #XRP and #Chainlink have been grabbing headlines as of late. Our latest insight takes a look at the under the radar metrics that could be very well hinting at an $ETH return above $2,000 and beyond. https://t.co/5TKfhncwA4 pic.twitter.com/cdNgTUtMED

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) July 21, 2023

According to the report, discussions relating to ETH have declined to around the same level as the altcoin’s 2023 low. However, Santiment believes this is not a cause for concern. One key sign of a potential upcoming price bottom is when traders start making higher transactions while at a loss. At the time of the report, the ratio favored profit-taking, albeit not by a large margin.

The report also revealed that short-term ETH addresses active over the past 30 days are currently at an average return of -0.35%. Meanwhile, longer-term addresses active over the past year are up an average of +14.9%. Both of these percentages need to be well into the negatives before ETH presents a good buy opportunity again, according to Santiment.

Bullish Sign: ETH Held in Self-Custody

Another bullish indicator is that ETH coins are predominantly being kept in self-custody. Less than 7% of coins are currently stored on exchange platforms, reducing the likelihood of massive selloffs. Hence, Santiment concludes that the current time could be a better time to purchase ETH.

In conclusion, Santiment states that positive developments occur in cryptocurrency when the community starts to look to other top market cap assets such as LINK and Ripple (XRP) for gains. Given the bullish metrics covered in Santiment’s insights report, there’s no reason why ETH cannot make a move to back above $2K in the next few weeks. Despite a 0.61% drop in its price over the past 24 hours, ETH continues to trade below $2K, with its price at $1,889.79 at press time.