1. Overview
Chainlink is a decentralised oracle network that connects smart contracts to the real world.
It's infrastructure is widely adopted and used for:
• Price feeds
• Data feeds
• Proof of reserves
• Smart contract automation
• Verifiable on-chain randomness (VRF)
2. Use Case
Chainlink is widely utilized across various industries, including:
• Financial services
• DeFi
• Gaming
• NFT collectibles
• Climate markets
• Enterprise
• Insurance
It is among a handful of crypto projects that are critical for a robust and decentralized future.
The launch of CCIP has been a game-changer for Chainlink, enabling seamless transfer of data and value between existing systems and both public and private blockchains.
The adoption of CCIP continues to surge:
• Base chain
• ANZ/ SWIFT
• Vodafone
• DTCC
• Affine Pass NFTs
3. Adoption
The current Total Value Secured (TVS) using Chainlink oracles stands at $11.3b (across 348 protocols).
Chainlink is the dominant and most widely used oracle, capturing over 46% of the market share.
Other notable oracles in the space include WINkLink, Chronical, Pyth, and TWAP.
4. Revenue
Chainlink accrues fees and rewards through several methods:
• CCIP
• Keepers
• Requests
• VRF V1
• VRF V2
In the past 30d, Chainlink has generated:
• $180k in fees
• $111k in revenue
This places it at the top among other oracles and 71st overall according to DeFiLlama.
5. Tokenomics
The $LINK token is used within the network for the following components:
• Node operator fees
• Implicit staking
• Explicit staking
The recently released Chainlink 2.0 aims to create a new era of growth through:
• Chainlink Staking
• BUILD Program
• SCALE Program
These are the current supply stats:
• Circulating supply = 556.8m
• Max supply = 1b
• Market cap = $6.1b
• FDV = $10.9b
• Market cap/ FDV = 0.56
6. Treasury
Chainlink has allocated team tokens, which make up 30% of the total supply, to fund development.
Based on current prices:
• $72m $LINK
• $800m USD
According to DefiLlama, this would position it as the fifth largest in terms of Treasury value.
A substantial war chest.
7. Governance
Governance is facilitated through validation, which monitors on-chain Oracle behavior and helps users choose oracles.
Chainlink products are also widely used by other DeFi projects to assist in their own decentralised governance.
8. Team & Investors
The project was founded in 2014 by @SergeyNazarov and Steve Ellis.
Chainlink Labs has since expanded to employ over 400 individuals.
To date, the project has successfully raised $32M in funding through four rounds.
9. Competitors
Chainlink is the market-leading oracle solution, enjoying a significant first-mover advantage and dominant market share (46% of TVS).
Considering the team's continuous growth and ecosystem development, I don't anticipate this changing anytime soon.
10. Risks & Audits
The codebase and smart contracts have undergone multiple audits throughout the years.
As per the CRC, Chainlink has been assigned a 2/5 rating in its securities framework.
A score of 1/5 indicates that it is least likely to be considered a security under the Howey test.
11. Summary
Overall, I am very bullish on $LINK and the Chainlink protocol.
There are a number of upcoming bullish catalysts:
• CCIP
• Chainlink staking
• Economics 2.0
• Institutional adoption
• Ecosystem expanding
• Market conditions improving
