ChainLink LINKPrice $ 9.73

Chainlink is the platform that connects real-world data, governments, enterprise systems, and thousands of blockchains into unified applications, already enabling tens of trillions of dollars in transaction value. Major financial institutions, national governments, and top DeFi protocols, including Swift, DTCC, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Euroclear, Central Bank of Brazil, Fidelity International, UBS, Aave, GMX, Lido, and more use Chainlink to power next-generation use cases across banking, asset management, DeFi, and other major sectors. It is the global standard for developing advanced blockchains applications that are highly secure, compliant with existing regulations, and integrated with existing legacy systems.

Chainlink as technology

It is a set of open standards for onchain data, cross-chain interoperability, and offchain computation. The platform is powered by decentralized oracle networks (DONs), which are composed of independent oracle node operators that come to consensus over any arbitrary input to deliver highly secure and reliable data, computation, and value to its intended destination. Chainlink node operators include traditional Web2 telecommunication providers, leading data providers, and Web3 infrastructure providers such as Deutsche Telekom, Swisscom, Vodafone, and Infura.

The Chainlink data standard, including Data Feeds and Data Streams, is used to supply DeFi with financial market data; tokenized assets with proof of reserve (PoR), net asset value (NAV), assets under management (AUM); traditional institutions with identity and compliance data; and decentralized applications (dApps) with virtually any type of data point they need to function.

The Chainlink interoperability standard, powered by the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), enables data and value to move seamlessly across any public and private blockchain, as well as facilitates communication between blockchains and traditional systems, such as banks, governments, and enterprises. CCIP secures tens of billions of dollars in asset value and has enabled the transfer of billions of dollars in cross-chain value.

The Chainlink compute standard, powered by the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) enables developers to easily build an application that combines any data, any blockchain, any legacy systems, and computation into a unified application. With CRE, developers can easily adapt the application to support new connections without having to rewrite the app.

The Chainlink as economic system

It is a platform supports a range of billing and payment models, including usage-based payments (e.g., subscription contracts and per-call models), revenue-sharing agreements (e.g., percentage of application revenue or recaptured MEV), Chainlink Build (i.e., a program where projects allocate a portion of their token supply), and Chainlink Scale (i.e., a program where blockchain ecosystems cover Chainlink service operating costs).

Chainlink Staking adds an additional layer of cryptoeconomic security to the Chainlink Network where LINK is staked (locked up) and can be slashed (forfeited) as a penalty if service providers fail to meet predefined performance requirements. Both node operators and community stakers play a critical role in supporting the reliability and integrity of the Chainlink Network.

LINK is the native token of the Chainlink Network, used for both payments and staking. Users can pay for Chainlink services in LINK tokens or in alternative assets (e.g., gas tokens) that are automatically converted into LINK via Payment Abstraction—streamlining the payment experience. Network service providers, such as node operators and LINK Stakers, earn rewards in LINK tokens, which can be staked to support the cryptoeconomic security of the Chainlink Network.