Chainlink

Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that provides real-world data to blockchain-based smart contracts, ensuring they can interact with data outside the blockchain. Smart contracts, by design, cannot directly access data that isn't on-chain, and Chainlink bridges this gap by allowing off-chain data to be securely fed into blockchain applications. Chainlink’s oracles are designed to be tamper-proof, ensuring that the data fed into smart contracts is accurate and reliable. Chainlink's native token, LINK, is used to pay node operators for retrieving data from external sources. Chainlink has found numerous applications, especially in decentralized finance (DeFi), where accurate data for things like asset prices or interest rates is critical. Examples include price feeds for decentralized exchanges or insurance contracts that depend on weather data.