Chainlink Network Activity Explodes

Chainlink just posted its two highest active address days in eight months, according to on-chain analytics firm Santiment. More than 282,000 $LINK addresses were active on May 9, followed by roughly 264,000 the next day. Santiment says the activity reflects genuine protocol utilization rather than speculative noise, noting that historically, spikes in real network usage have preceded sustained price rises rather than short-lived pumps.

The surge in on-chain engagement sits on top of a broader accumulation story. Santiment flagged that wallets holding between 100,000 and 10 million $LINK added 32.93 million tokens over the past month, a 7.7% increase, with the total number of wallets in that range hitting an all-time high of over 461,000. With institutional-grade capital actively choosing Chainlink as its infrastructure of choice and smart money loading up on supply, the conditions look increasingly compelling if broader crypto markets can maintain their bullish momentum.

Solv Protocol Moves $700 Million in Tokenized Bitcoin to CCIP

Solv Protocol is moving $700 million in tokenized Bitcoin, covering SolvBTC and xSolvBTC, from the LayerZero bridge to Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) following a security review and a wave of recent cross-chain exploits. Two major protocols have migrated their cross-chain infrastructure to Chainlink's CCIP in the weeks since the LayerZero exploit, with Kelp DAO becoming the first major protocol to leave and Solv Protocol following by moving more than $700 million in tokenized Bitcoin off LayerZero, citing security concerns. Solv will deprecate LayerZero support across Corn, Berachain, Rootstock, and TAC as it standardizes on Chainlink CCIP, with the migration rolling out in phases.

Chainlink Chief Business Officer Johann Eid said the company is "committed to working with the KelpDAO team on improving the cross-chain security of rsETH," adding that highly secure infrastructure is essential for DeFi to reach its full potential of bringing trillions on-chain.Chainlink's infrastructure has supported over $30 trillion in cross-chain transaction value to date.

Kelp DAO Also Exits LayerZero After $292 Million Exploit

The exploit drained 116,500 rsETH, worth roughly $292 million, from Kelp's LayerZero-powered bridge, leading Kelp to migrate rsETH off LayerZero's OFT standard to Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol.Kelp DAO claims that LayerZero personnel approved the 1-of-1 verifier setup, a decision LayerZero has since cited as the reason a North Korea-linked attacker was able to drain the funds, a claim that runs counter to LayerZero's post-mortem, which said the setup directly contradicted its recommended multi-DVN model.

LayerZero has since acknowledged it "made a mistake" by allowing its own verifier network to secure high-value assets in a risky configuration, reversing weeks of blaming Kelp DAO for the hack. The combined migrations by Solv and Kelp shift nearly $1 billion in assets to Chainlink's CCIP, underscoring a broader industry move toward infrastructure with stronger security guarantees.

Sources:
CoinDesk: LayerZero says it made a mistake in $292 million Kelp exploit
The Block: Kelp DAO ditches LayerZero for Chainlink's cross-chain infrastructure following $292 million exploit
crypto.news: Kelp DAO moves rsETH to Chainlink CCIP as LayerZero dispute grows