Why Chainlink Plunged 17% This Past Week

Core Viewpoint - Chainlink (CRYPTO: LINK) experienced a significant decline of 17.1% in value over the past week, making it one of the worst-performing large-cap cryptocurrencies [1] Group 1: Chainlink's Role and Recent Developments - Chainlink serves as a leading infrastructure player for developers creating crypto applications that require off-chain data, such as price feeds, to be integrated into the blockchain [2] - The launch of Chainlink's "24/5 U.S. Equity Streams" solution aims to enhance data streams for DeFi protocols, facilitating real-time trading and promoting integration between traditional finance and DeFi [6][8] Group 2: Market Conditions and Impact - A broad market decline affected Chainlink, as speculative capital shifted towards low-correlation assets like precious metals, leading to a downturn in higher-risk equities and digital assets [7] - Despite the negative market conditions, Chainlink's launch of the 24/5 U.S. Equity Streams solidifies its position as a leading oracle network, supporting the ongoing integration between traditional finance and DeFi [8]