25 February 2022: Chainlink is so integral to the overall cryptoeconomy that it is essentially impossible to avoid. And for any institution outside the blockchain that wants to integrate its data sets with smart contracts? Chainlink is partnered with all of them too. As of 2022, Chainlink has over 1,100 partnerships, integrations, and collaborations - establishing one of the largest ecosystem's in the cryptoeconomy next to Ethereum.
Based on the current utilization of Chainlink and the importance of the oracle for the longevity of the cryptoeconomy, the market may be substantially undervaluing LINK.
What is Chainlink (LINK)?
Chainlink (LINK) is a decentralized oracle interface that was founded in 2017 to essentially connect off-chain data and make it usable in smart contract applications. The new whitepaper that was released by Chainlink in April 2021 outlined the protocol's plans to "introduce a new architecture for building hybrid smart contracts" in which Decentralized Oracle Networks (DONs) possess unique capabilities in which to provide a means for secure, off-chain computations.
With the integrations of Chainlink 2.0, the usability and overall expansiveness of Chainlink as continue to accelerate. More protocols, networks, applications, and off-chain institutions are utilizing the Chainlink network than ever before.
Some prominent use case examples of Chainlink include:
- Price Feeds - Makes available core financial data for use in market tracking and DeFi applications
- Verifiable Randonmness - Establishes means for dynamic NFT minting and blockchain gaming
- Proof of Reserves - Provides the means in which to verify off-chain collateral for entities like stablecoins
Who is Actually Using Chainlink?
Chainlink has been entrusted by the world's largest exchanges, market trackers, and off-chain major institutions. For instance, CoinGecko utilizes the oracle network for market data tracking while global cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance & Kraken utilizes Chainlink's price feed technology.
To put it more straight forward, Chainlink has a hand in nearly every major part of the cryptoeconomy. This includes supporting exchanges, lending protocols, AMMs, data providers, enterprises, payment networks, gaming, metaverse applications, and on.
Here are some examples of blockchains integrated with Chainlink:
Even more impressive is Chainlink's off chain popularity amongst some of the top institutions in the world. Here are a handful of key partnerships that Chainlink has minted:
- Google - Chainlink is serving as the middle-man for data exchanges between Ethereum dApps and the Google Cloud.
- Amazon - A partnership was implemented between Chainlink & Amazon Web Services that allows various groups to sell data to blockchains through an AWS Chainlink Quickstart
- Accuweather - The move to partner with Chainlink now allows Accuweather to source its weather-related data for use in smart contract applications on the blockchain while operating a LINK node
- Associated Press - AP is making several of its datasets available for use on the blockchain through Chainlink and will be operating their own node
Summary
Chainlink has partnerships quite literally with the biggest blockchains AND companies in the world. For a coin ranked only 22nd in total market cap, being able to call Google, Amazon, & Associated Press partners is extraordinary. To understand the crypto space, you have to know how Chainlink works and why it is integrated everywhere.
2021 was a period of substantial growth for Chainlink. In fact, the network has reached a Total Value Secured (TVS) of over $75 billion USD. Per CoinGecko, LINK has a valuation of ~$7 billion USD.
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