Co-founder Sergey Nazarov began working with smart contracts in 2014. Nazarov's SmartContract.com focused on data-driven verification and fully automated execution of contracts on the Bitcoin blockchain.[6]
In September 2017, Nazarov, Steve Ellis, and technical advisor Dr. Ari Juels (a Cornell professor of computer science who coined the term proof of work)[7] released the first Chainlink white paper, which described the project's solution to the blockchain oracle problem. The oracle problem refers to the difficulty of introducing real world or off-chain data into a blockchain environment while preserving the ledger's inherent immutability, transparency, and censorship resistance.[8]
Following the release of the white paper, Chainlink secured $32 million in funding through an initial coin offering (ICO).[9]
Chainlink node operators publish cryptographically-signed data to the blockchain. Blockchain developers can select from over 130 discrete node operators that combine to form decentralized oracle networks providing data to smart contracts. Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi,[13][14]Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems[15], and KYC/AML compliance firms such as CipherTrace[16][17] and Blockpass[18] all run Chainlink nodes.
A visual representation of Chainlink's smart bond architecture.
The World Economic Forum recognized Chainlink as one of its Technology Pioneers in June 2020.[19][20][21] One result of this collaboration was a paper co-authored by Sergey Nazarov titled Bridging the Governance Gap: Interoperability for blockchain and legacy systems, wherein Nazarov argued that secure middleware such as Chainlink can enable existing IT infrastructure to make use of the benefits of blockchain technology without requiring a complete overhaul of current systems.[22]
In April 2021, Chainlink released a 2.0 version of its white paper that outlined new and forthcoming capabilities to the Chainlink network, including off-chain computation, crypto-economic staking, and privacy-preserving features.[24]
↑ Jakobsson, Markus; Juels, Ari (1999), Preneel, Bart (ed.), "Proofs of Work and Bread Pudding Protocols(Extended Abstract)", Secure Information Networks: Communications and Multimedia Security IFIP TC6/TC11 Joint Working Conference on Communications and Multimedia Security (CMS’99) September 20–21, 1999, Leuven, Belgium, IFIP — The International Federation for Information Processing, Boston, MA: Springer US, pp.258–272, doi:10.1007/978-0-387-35568-9_18, ISBN978-0-387-35568-9, retrieved 2021-07-05
A smart contract is a computer program or a transaction protocol which is intended to automatically execute, control or document legally relevant events and actions according to the terms of a contract or an agreement. The objectives of smart contracts are the reduction of need in trusted intermediators, arbitrations and enforcement costs, fraud losses, as well as the reduction of malicious and accidental exceptions.
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records, to control the creation of additional coins, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership. Cryptocurrency does not exist in physical form and is typically not issued by a central authority. Cryptocurrencies typically use decentralized control as opposed to a central bank digital currency (CBDC). When a cryptocurrency is minted or created prior to issuance or issued by a single issuer, it is generally considered centralized. When implemented with decentralized control, each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial transaction database.
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. After Bitcoin, it is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Ethereum is the most actively used blockchain.
A blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. The timestamp proves that the transaction data existed when the block was published in order to get into its hash. As blocks each contain information about the block previous to it, they form a chain, with each additional block reinforcing the ones before it. Therefore, blockchains are resistant to modification of their data because once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks.
Monero is a decentralized cryptocurrency. It uses a public distributed ledger with privacy-enhancing technologies that obfuscate transactions to achieve anonymity and fungibility. Observers cannot decipher addresses trading monero or transaction amounts, and users cannot view the transaction history or balance of other users.
Joseph Lubin is a Canadian-American entrepreneur. He has founded and co-founded several companies including the Swiss-based EthSuisse, contributing heavily to Ethereum, the decentralized cryptocurrency platform. Lubin is founder of ConsenSys, a Brooklyn-based software-production studio.
A decentralized application is a computer application that runs on a distributed computing system.
Ethereum Classic is an open source, blockchain-based distributed computing platform featuring smart contract (scripting) functionality. It supports a modified version of Nakamoto consensus via transaction-based state transitions executed on a public Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Cardano is a public blockchain platform. It is open-source and decentralized, with consensus achieved using proof of stake. It can facilitate peer-to-peer transactions with its internal cryptocurrency, Ada.
Binance is a Cayman Islands-domiciled cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading various cryptocurrencies founded in 2017. As of April 2021, Binance was the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of trading volume.
OKEx is a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading various cryptocurrencies. Some of exchange's core features include spot and derivative trading. It was founded in 2017.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies where the price is designed to be pegged to a cryptocurrency, fiat money, or to exchange-traded commodities.
USD Coin (USDC) is a digital stablecoin that is pegged to the United States dollar and runs on the Ethereum, Stellar, Algorand, Hedera Hashgraph and Solana blockchains. USD Coin is managed by a consortium called Centre, which was founded by Circle and includes members from the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and Bitcoin mining company Bitmain, an investor in Circle.
Crypto art is a category of art related to blockchain technology.
Bancor Protocol is a standard for decentralized exchange networks used to allow for the automated conversion of cryptocurrency tokens into other tokens, including across blockchains, without the need for an order book or counterparty to facilitate the exchange. Bancor invented the world’s first blockchain-based automated liquidity pool, or automated market maker (AMM) called a Smart Token, a digital currency with an embedded converter that allows it to be issued or exchanged automatically for any token in its network. Bancor Network consists of all the different tokens utilizing the Bancor Protocol and connected through BNT, the Bancor Network Token, which serves as the hub token for the network through which any token can be converted into any other token.
Decentralized finance is a blockchain-based form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks to offer traditional financial instruments, and instead utilizes smart contracts on blockchains, the most common being Ethereum. DeFi platforms allow people to lend or borrow funds from others, speculate on price movements on a range of assets using derivatives, trade cryptocurrencies, insure against risks, and earn interest in savings-like accounts. DeFi uses a layered architecture and highly composable building blocks. Some DeFi applications promote high interest rates but are subject to high risk. By October 2020, over $11 billion was deposited in various decentralized finance protocols, which represented more than a tenfold growth during the course of 2020. As of January 2021, approximately $20.5 billion was invested in DeFi.
MetaMask is a software cryptocurrency wallet used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to access their Ethereum wallet through a browser extension or mobile app, which can then be used to interact with decentralized applications.
Dai is a stablecoin cryptocurrency which aims to keep its value as close to one United States dollar (USD) as possible through an automated system of smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. Dai is maintained and regulated by MakerDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) composed of the owners of its governance token, MKR, who may vote on changes to certain parameters in its smart contracts in order to ensure the stability of Dai.
Uniswap is a decentralized finance protocol that is used to exchange cryptocurrencies. Uniswap is also the name of the company that initially built the Uniswap protocol. The protocol facilitates automated transactions between cryptocurrency tokens on the Ethereum blockchain through the use of smart contracts. As of October 2020, Uniswap was estimated to be the largest decentralized exchange and the fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange overall by daily trading volume. In March 2021, Uniswap was generating fees of approximately US$2–3 million daily for the liquidity providers who facilitate liquid markets for the cryptocurrencies being exchanged.
Algorand is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency platform that aims to be secure, scalable, and decentralized. The Algorand platform supports smart contract functionality, and its consensus algorithm is based on proof-of-stake principles and a Byzantine Agreement protocol. Algorand’s native cryptocurrency is called Algo.
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