A Quick Guide to Chainlink

Smart contracts are on the rise. With networks like Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano getting increasingly popular, more people than ever are utilizing the benefits of these contracts. Smart contracts are protocols or programs that execute on the blockchain when certain specified requirements are met. They can be used for financial reasons, medical reasons, gaming, and more. One of the biggest struggles facing smart contracts is ensuring the information they receive is accurate in order for the contract to execute properly at the time it is supposed to. This is where Chainlink comes in.

A Decentralized Oracle Network

The goal of the Chainlink network is to connect smart contracts to data from the outside world. Smart contracts need a certain condition or requirement in order to execute. When the condition is met they go through with the contract, even if the data being given to the contract is incorrect or falsified. Chainlink works to solve this by creating a decentralized network of oracles, which collect real world data and send it to the network. The network proceeds to remove any outliers from the data, as the oracles come to a consensus, meaning they verified all the information. Once this happens, it allows for the smart contracts to receive the verified data, which is utilized in the execution of the contracts.

While there are other networks like this, Chainlink is by far the largest. As of Nov. 3rd it has secured $76,597,802,610.19 in value. It is also completely open source, meaning that people can set up their decentralized oracle networks on the chain that are able to act independently from each other. This means that Chainlink is not just one network, but actually a multitude of different decentralized oracle networks all working towards validating the information going into smart contracts. 

LINK Token

There is also value for those investing in Chainlink (LINK) token. It is currently the 12th most popular coin being traded on Coinbase, and has a market cap of $15.3 billion. In the last ten days, the price has seen a rise of nearly 10%. However, it still sits roughly $20 under its all time high. LINK is used to pay those who operate nodes within the network. It is also used for deposits made by operators of the nodes. This network’s utility continues to grow, but there is not a well established roadmap for the future of Chainlink. While it has lots of partnerships with big companies and a well established network, the future of the coin is still uncertain.