Chainlink Above the September High: What Open Interest, Funding Rate and Liquidation Risk Mean for LINK

Chainlink traded at $13.86 at 14:55 UTC on September 25, 2026, 11.2 percent higher than 24 hours earlier. The break above the September high of roughly $13.70 is real, and the figure most often quoted alongside it is a rise of about 25 percent in open interest. That number is currently being read as evidence of an overheated market. We therefore queried the derivatives data ourselves, and it does not support that reading: funding sits exactly at the baseline rate on both perpetual markets we were able to check. What that means for your leverage, your route to buying and your tax position is set out below. If you hold Chainlink in your portfolio, or are weighing an entry, these three figures from the derivatives market matter more than any price target. Chainlink price on September 25, 2026: the numbers behind the breakout All price figures in this section come from CoinGecko's public market interface, retrieved at 14:55 UTC on September 25, 2026. LINK stands at $13.86. Over 24 hours that is a gain of 11.2 percent, over seven days 18.5 percent and over 30 days 22.7 percent. The daily range ran from $12.46 to $14.19. Market capitalisation is $10.36 billion, which places LINK 13th amo...