​Chainlink oracle network launches LINK token staking feature

What’s new? Chainlink, a decentralized oracle network, has unveiled a staking feature of its native token LINK to secure data transfers in the protocol. Chainlink Staking v0.1 will allow users to be rewarded for staking tokens in a smart contract. As the project’s co-founder Sergey Nazarov said in an interview with Coindesk, staking will provide incentives to grow and scale the Chainlink ecosystem. General access to the feature will be available on December 8.

Staking details on the Chainlink website

Launch details. According to Nazarov, the Chainlink network has processed more than $6,6 trillion in transactions this year. The launch of staking will lay the foundation for Economics 2.0, the vision of the protocol that will grow and become more efficient by providing the right incentives. Nazarov stressed that the move is necessary as the network continues to expand.

The maximum amount of tokens each participant can stake is 7000 LINK. The limit is set to reduce the risks of dominating a small number of pool participants in the early startup stage. Node operators are allowed to stake between 1000 and 50 000 coins. The limit is also imposed to reduce the risk of ecosystem centralization. The total pool volume is limited to 25 million LINK at this stage. The prime rate will be 5% per year. It is expected that tokens can be unlocked in 9-12 months when the Staking v0.2 upgrade is released.

Chainlink is based on the Ethereum blockchain. The platform verifies and collects data from external sources for other smart contracts. In June, the team announced the launch of staking, as well as the development of a new consensus algorithm, Proof of Reserves (PoR), which will increase transaction transparency. LINK is trading at $6,87 as of December 7, 09:40 UTC, having lost 5,09% in 24 hours (Binance’s data). The total capitalization of the asset is $3,49 billion.

In September, Chainlink became a partner of SWIFT, a financial messaging system. The parties entered into a partnership to work on a cross-chain protocol that combines the sphere of traditional finance and digital assets.