Creating a secure link between real-world data and the blockchain ecosystem

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Overview

ChainLink  (aka  Link  Network)  is  a  product  by  the  team  at SmartContract and has been in development since 2014.

The startup seeks to solve a significant problem in the world of blockchain innovation by deploying a solution to interact with external and centralized data-feeds.

In brief, the goals of the ChainLink technology are the following:

1) to provide a secure and decentralized middleware known as ‘oracles’ that can be used to communicate with centralized data feeds

2)to become a standard solution for such use cases as financial data, financial agreements, insurance, etc.

3)to combine and interact with other off-chain services such as payment gateways, execution of contracts and other actionable services on any API

Token Sale

Under the code LINK, ChainLink is issuing a total of 1 billion tokens. The hard cap associated with the sale is ~$35m with a bonus stage of 20% applicable.

Only 35% of the tokens are being offered to the public, meaning a  total  market  cap  of  +$90m  will  apply  if  the  upper  limit  is reached.

The remaining 65% of tokens will be split between an incentive ecosystem (35%) and development capability (30%).

There is a lack of specific detail regarding budget and operating expenses  (OPEX)  in  the  white  paper  as  it  is  predominantly technology focused.

Tokens for Investors

The tokens received by investors after the fundraising period (LINK) are predominantly supposed to be used as currency on the ChainLink platform as transactional tokens between data providers,  operators  and  payment  providers.  Essentially,  the more users associated with the platform, the more traction the currency gets, therefore leading to a higher token value based on the growth of the ecosystem.

It is also anticipated that LINK will be available for trade on the exchange.

Commercial Strategy

The  commercial  strategy  of  the  venture  including  a  detailed roadmap was not communicated to any significant extent in the white paper.

The  technical  strategy  is  communicated  thoroughly  and highlights the roadmap of development as well as how the team plans to overcome any obstacles.

ChainLink  will  support  Bitcoin  and  Ethereum  amongst  other cryptocurrencies. It is expected that the middleware will gain significant traction in providing such flexibility.

A number of targeted use cases are mentioned by the company which is where the greatest chance of market penetration will likely be.

Strengths

•ChainLink is solving a significant problem in establishing a secure, and trustless link between blockchain and off-chain data feeds.

•The possibilities of commercial opportunity using ChainLink are endless. The likes of finance, legal, gambling, payments and anything else which is data driven can be disrupted and innovated on a new level by using this ‘middleware.’

•ChainLink  already  has  an  established  partnership  with SWIFT,  a  banking  and  transaction  company.  SWIFT  have already  used  and  validated  the  concept  of  some  of ChainLinks technology. This provides an easy entry point to cooperation with other financial institutions.

There’s more…

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