{"description":"<div>\n<p>Founded in 2017 by SmartContract, Chainlink is a decentralized network of nodes that provide data and information from off-blockchain sources to onblockchain smart contracts via oracles. An oracle is a software acting as an intermediary (the &ldquo;middle-man&rdquo;) between smart contracts and the off-blockchain data providers.<\/p>\n<p>Connecting outside information sources to smart contracts is vital to the use cases of smart contracts and blockchains. The challenge of getting off-chain information (e.g. financial data) on-chain in a reliable, trust-minimized manner is generally known as the \"oracle problem\" and was largely unsolved until the formation of Chainlink.<\/p>\n<p>Chainlink&rsquo;s token (often also called Link) is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token used to pay for the services of Chainlink nodes providing off-blockchain data to smart contracts.<\/p>\n<p>Chainlink allows smart contract to connect to the outside world providing reliable, tamper-proof inputs and outputs for complex smart contracts on any blockchain.<\/p>\n<\/div>","rankedCrypto":[{"coingeckoId":"polkadot","sortingRank":5},{"coingeckoId":"chiliz","sortingRank":3},{"coingeckoId":"apecoin","sortingRank":2},{"coingeckoId":"decentraland","sortingRank":1},{"coingeckoId":"internet-computer","sortingRank":0}],"cryptoCategories":{"Decentralized Finance (DeFi)":["uniswap","compound-governance-token","aave"],"Entertainment":["decentraland","chiliz","axie-infinity","apecoin"],"Currency":["stellar","ripple","litecoin","dogecoin","bitcoin-cash","bitcoin"],"Smart Contracts":["polygon-ecosystem-token","tezos","solana","polkadot","ethereum","cosmos","cardano","avalanche-2","algorand"],"Computing":["filecoin","chainlink"]},"region":["CH","DE","AT"],"sophisId":139217724,"coingeckoId":"chainlink"}