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Welcome to Chain Reaction
Welcome back to Chain Reaction, a podcast that interviews newsmakers in crypto to better understand the tech behind the hype and the people working to build a decentralized future.
An Oracle Network for Smart Contracts
For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, a protocol that provides an oracle network to power smart contracts.
“Oracle networks are really the thing that puts the word ‘smart’ in smart contracts,” Nazarov said. “Smart contracts in and of themselves don’t know what time it is; they don’t have the ability to access any external system […] other than what’s in a blockchain.”
Chainlink is also known as a web3 services platform that connects people, businesses and data with the world of web3. And for good reason: The platform has enabled over $7 trillion in transaction volume across DeFi, gaming, NFTs and other major industries.
Chainlink’s Impact on DeFi
When it was launched in 2017, the total value locked (TVL) in the entirety of DeFi was “well below $100 million,” Nazarov said. By late 2021, that number had grown to almost $200 billion, though it has since fallen to $47 billion today, according to DeFiLlama data.
“When an oracle network goes live on a certain chain and provides data to it, that chain’s total value locked within advanced applications, like advanced gaming applications or DeFi applications, skyrockets,” Nazarov said. “And ‘skyrockets’ doesn’t mean that it doubles; it means that it [grows] more than 100 times.”
In order for blockchains to create advanced applications, they need advanced inputs and outputs, Nazarov said, pointing as an example to how Uber couldn’t exist without other systems that handle a big portion of the workloads and problems it encounters. “Without those APIs, you can’t build an advanced application,” he added.
Web 2.0 vs. Web 3
For Nazarov, the Web 2.0 world that most people use is “not guaranteed in any meaningful way.”
In the web3 world that uses smart contracts, there’s no capacity for human choice or the legal system, Nazarov noted. “There is just a technically enforced system of contracts.”
Through technological, or cryptographic, guarantees in web3, Nazarov feels. “It’s a parallel system of contracts. The Web 2 world defines events in a digital form […] but at the end of the day, those promises are only backed by the legal system and people’s choice to fulfill those promises.”
Other Topics Covered
In addition to a number of topics surrounding smart contracts, technological guarantees, cross-chain interoperability and Nazarov’s long-term vision for Chainlink, we discussed:
- Unexpected smart contract use cases
- How traditional companies can tokenize assets
- AI and blockchain technology
- CCIP updates
Conclusion
Chainlink is a web3 services platform that connects people, businesses, and data with the world of web3. Chainlink’s oracle network is “the thing that puts the word ‘smart’ in smart contracts.” Chainlink has enabled over $7 trillion in transaction volume across DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and other major industries.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Chainlink?
Chainlink is a protocol that provides an oracle network to power smart contracts. It is also known as a web3 services platform that connects people, businesses and data with the world of web3.
What is an oracle network?
An oracle network provides external data to a smart contract, which is essential for many decentralized applications, such as DeFi and gaming. Smart contracts don’t have the ability to access any external system other than what’s in a blockchain. An oracle network provides the necessary external data to a smart contract, making it “smart.”
What is DeFi?
DeFi stands for decentralized finance, which uses blockchain technology to offer traditional financial services, such as lending and borrowing, without intermediaries.
What is TVL in DeFi?
Total value locked (TVL) is a metric that measures the total value of assets locked in a DeFi protocol.
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