What is Chainlink? Oracles, the LINK token and why banks use the network

The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry a high degree of risk. Always conduct your own research.Chainlink gives smart contracts the data a blockchain cannot see on its own. What the oracle network does, what the LINK token is paid for and what applies when you buy in Germany.Chainlink is a decentralised oracle network: it hands smart contracts on a blockchain exactly the data they cannot see for themselves. Prices, interest rates, reserve balances, weather data, results from other blockchain networks. The LINK token pays the machines that fetch and certify that data. To understand what Chainlink is in economic terms, the price is the wrong place to start. Begin with the question of what anyone is paying for. The project publishes the figure that shows it: $36.4 trillion in transaction value has passed through Chainlink oracles by its own count up to the start of October. This article explains what sits behind that, which services exist, what role the token plays and what an investor in Germany needs to know about buying, custody and the tax office. Chainlink is an oracle n...