Chainlink (LINK) continues to rally into Tuesday, reclaiming its position as the twelfth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and strengthening by nearly 40% over the past week. At the time of writing, LINK/USD is trading around $35.06.

The positive sentiment in the overall cryptocurrency market has powered a strong rally among altcoins, even as market leader Bitcoin rises above the $52,000 mark and looks set to continue its uptrend. Chainlink has been one of the strongest gainers among altcoins lately, supported not only by the bullish mood among crypto investors but also as investors cheer Ethereum L2 scaling solution Optimism’s integration with the decentralized oracle network.

The future prospects of Chainlink look bright as the growth of the DeFi market would spur the demand for its oracle solutions as diverse applications would require access to real-world data on the blockchain. Chainlink’s contribution to the DeFi market had risen as high as 80% at the beginning of the year, well before this sector really took off. With more applications launching, the need for oracle services will only continue to grow, presenting a strong opportunity for the LINK token’s value to rise further.

Since the news of Optimism’s integration, the social volume of Chainlink has witnessed a sharp spike and is another positive indicator suggesting more potential for upside. Its trading voume has also witnessed a sharp spike, especially since the beginning of this week, driving up investor interest in the LINK token.

According to analysis by popular crypto trader Benjamin Cowen, Chainlink could rally beyond the $100 mark in the coming sessions. In a recently shared video on YouTube, he observes that LINK could not only break past this key level in the current market cycle but see its value soar to several hundred dollars, all depending on the overall market sentiment of course.

Key Levels to Watch

On the 4-hour chart of LINK/USD, moving averages and the MACD indicator are signaling a bullish bias. Although, the momentum indicator suggests some selling interest present at the moment as well.

Chainlink’s price is holding above the pivot point at $30.51 and appears to be undergoing some consolidation presently, as buyers get ready to test and overcome the first resistance level at $36.70. A break past this could see buyers face resistance once again at $39.84 before LINK can cross the $40 mark.