Chainlink Hits Eight-Month High on Bottomline SWIFT Partnership
In brief
- LINK surged to $13.64 Monday, highest since January 18, on 6.8% daily gain
- Chainlink partnered with Bottomline to connect 600+ banks to blockchain settlement
- Open interest on LINK derivatives hit 11-month high of $784 million
- LINK is up 57% in the last 30 days
The Bottomline Deal
LINK rose 6.8% in the last 24 hours, extending a run that's seen the token gain 57% over the past month. The catalyst was last week's announcement that Chainlink partnered with Bottomline, a firm that handles payments automation and treasury management for more than 600 banks. Bottomline also serves roughly 1,200 financial institutions and 10,000 businesses worldwide, making it a significant entry point into the banking sector.
The deal lets Bottomline's clients tap Chainlink's infrastructure without replacing their existing workflows. Banks send the same ISO 20022 messages they already use—the global standard for cross-border payments that reached 97% adoption after a November 2025 switchover. Chainlink sits underneath as the connector rather than a replacement.
On-Chain and Derivatives Momentum
Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) has been live since July 2023 and spans more than 60 blockchains, giving it the technical foundation banks need. This infrastructure caught the attention of institutional players. In the derivatives market, open interest on LINK contracts also hit an 11-month high of $784 million, signaling heavy positioning by traders betting on further gains.
The banking connection isn't new for Chainlink. In 2023, SWIFT ran interoperability experiments with Chainlink and more than 10 institutions, including Citi and BNY Mellon. Those trials laid the groundwork for deals like the Bottomline partnership.
Market Context
Elsewhere in crypto markets, Bitcoin traded below $80,000 on Monday, down approximately 1% from the previous week. The broader market's flatness made LINK's move stand out. Momentum also came from retail channels: in late August, Charles Schwab announced plans to expand its retail crypto trading offering and chose Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink as three additional assets to list.
