What is Chainlink?

Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that facilitates real-world data interaction with smart contracts on the blockchain. In essence, Chainlink provides the bridge between off-chain data sources and on-chain smart contracts, ensuring the trustless transfer of information that is essential for many decentralized applications (dApps).

Who created Chainlink and when?

Chainlink was created by Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis in 2017. They developed the Chainlink network based on their profound understanding of smart contracts and the hurdles these contracts faced in leveraging off-chain data.

What problem do oracles solve?

Oracles are vital components of the blockchain ecosystem as they solve the fundamental problem of data inaccessibility for smart contracts. By design, smart contracts that reside on the blockchain cannot access off-chain or external data. This limitation hinders their potential, particularly in applications like financial services, supply chain management, and insurance which rely on real-world data.

Oracles like Chainlink are in that gap, acting as trusted messengers that relay data off-chain to smart contracts on-chain. Thus, oracles expand the functional range and practical application of smart contracts, making them more useful in various industries, for example, in the Fenikss casino or other services where there is an account replenishment.

How do Chainlink oracles work?

Chainlink utilizes a network of independent node operators who collect and transmit real-world data. When a smart contract needs specific data (e.g., price information), it sends a request to the Chainlink network. The network’s oracles then fetch the requested data from off-chain sources, validate it, aggregate the responses, and deliver the validated data back to the contract.

This decentralized approach to data procurement and validation helps to ensure the authenticity, accuracy, and reliability of the data provided, thereby securing the integrity of the smart contract’s execution.

What data can Chainlink oracles supply?

Chainlink oracles can supply a wide variety of real-world data. This includes but is not limited to:

1. Financial market data (like the price of commodities, stocks, and cryptocurrencies)
2. Events data (like sports scores or election results)
3. Network data (like transaction status on other blockchains)
4. Weather data
5. IoT data

What blockchain does Chainlink run on?

Originally, Chainlink was developed on the Ethereum blockchain, which remains its primary operational base. However, one of Chainlink’s distinctive features is its blockchain agnosticism. It can interact with multiple different blockchains, enabling cross-chain functionalities and expanding its utility across various blockchain ecosystems. By facilitating the use of real-world data in smart contracts, Chainlink plays an instrumental role in the evolution of the blockchain ecosystem. With its network of decentralized oracles, Chainlink is helping make the blockchain a more accessible and applicable technology in our everyday lives.