The Technology Behind LINK (Chainlink) на сайте Nedvio

Chainlink (LINK) has emerged as one of the most important cryptos because it provides critical infrastructure enabling real-world data and events to trigger smart contract executions on blockchains. Here’s an in-depth look at the innovative technology behind LINK.

Introduction to Chainlink

Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that connects blockchains with external data sources, APIs, payment systems, and more. Oracles provide external data feeds needed to run smart contracts with connectivity beyond the blockchain itself.

LINK is the native token of the Chainlink network, used to pay oracle node operators for their services. The Chainlink platform was founded in 2017 by Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis, and has become a leading blockchain oracle solution.

Demand for LINK has exploded as blockchain applications across DeFi, insurance, gaming, and more need secure and reliable oracles. LINK is now a top 10 cryptocurrency with a market cap of over $7 billion as of September 2022.

Hybrid Smart Contract Architecture

A key differentiator of Chainlink is its hybrid smart contract design. Chainlink smart contracts have two components:

• On-Chain Contracts — These solidity smart contracts live on the blockchain and contain the conditional contract logic and settlement transactions.
• Off-Chain Computation — The oracle nodes that connect and retrieve external data reside off-chain. This allows flexibility to customize adapters using any programming language.

Separating the on-chain and off-chain aspects maximizes development flexibility and scalability. Any external API can be leveraged. Hyperlocal data like weather or traffic conditions become blockchain-accessible.

Hybrid smart contracts usher in a new generation of DeFi, insurance, supply chain, and gaming applications dependent on real-world inputs.

Decentralized Oracle Network

Chainlink operates a decentralized network of oracle nodes so that smart contracts always receive high quality data. This avoids single points of failure inherent in centralized oracle approaches.

Anyone can run independent oracle nodes by staking LINK tokens to support accurate uptime and data transfers. The network includes over 800 nodes run by leading blockchain DevOps and data providers.

Nodes are assigned to fulfill oracle requests via a reputation-based system weighted by past performance metrics. Nodes with higher reputation scores and more staked LINK get assigned more requests and earn greater revenue.

This Sybil-resistant design incentivizes availability and precision. DeFi developers can easily tap into the robust, decentralized oracle framework to build next-gen applications.

Secure End-to-End Data Delivery

Delivering external data to blockchains in a reliable, tamper-proof manner is non-trivial. Chainlink employs encryption, trusted hardware, and a decentralized aggregation model to ensure end-to-end data integrity.

When an oracle request is made, it is processed through the following steps:

1. Data Sources — Nodes retrieve data from contracted APIs in a sandboxed environment.
2. Aggregation — Multiple oracles respond, allowing outlier responses to be removed ensuring high quality data.
3. Verification — Hardware security modules cryptographically sign the data to prove accuracy.
4. Computation — Contract logic is executed off-chain for efficiency, with only settlement transactions sent on-chain.
5. Update — The smart contract is updated seamlessly with the ciphertext verified result.

This data pipeline maintains robustness even if nodes go offline. The aggregation model means consensus is reached if the majority of oracles are honest.

Customizable Integration

One of Chainlink’s key strengths is its flexibility to connect with any external system. Chainlink provides extensive documentation and open source adapters that accelerate integration.

Developers can use predefined adapters or build custom ones using Node.js and Python. External APIs just need a basic webhook or JSON interface to become blockchain-reachable through Chainlink.

On the blockchain side, Chainlink has native integration for the leading smart contract networks — Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and more. APIs across data providers, web services, IoT devices, enterprise systems, and bank payments become «chainlinked» to any blockchain.

This plug-and-play connectivity has made Chainlink the go-to oracle solution for hundreds of blockchain applications. The vibrant ecosystem keeps strengthening the network effects and usefulness of the LINK token.

Conclusion

Chainlink solves one of the biggest limitations of smart contracts — connectivity to external resources outside the blockchain. Its decentralized oracle network, hybrid contract architecture, and flexible integration capabilities empower development of real-world decentralized applications.

As blockchain adoption accelerates across industries, reliance on proven oracle infrastructure like Chainlink will only grow. Chainlink is poised to be a foundational blockchain layer for years to come.