Chainlink is a blockchain-agnostic protocol that acts as a bridge between blockchains and external, off-chain data sources. In the crypto space, such protocols are known as "oracles". LINK is the native cryptocurrency or coin for Chainlink and is among the top 50 cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap in USD.Although blockchains are highly efficient in storing and recording ‘on-chain’ data, they cannot directly send or receive data to/from any external off-chain sources. Functioning as an abstraction layer, Chainlink allows blockchains to seamlessly and securely interact with external information in the form of payment methods, events and data feeds, thereby supplying crucial tamper-proof off-chain data that adds weightage to smart contracts as valid digital agreements.Chainlink was launched in the year 2017 by Sergey Nazarov, a NYU business graduate, along with fellow NYU computer science graduate Steve Ellis. The Chainlink network comprises a large open-source community made up of node operators, data providers, security auditors, smart contract developers and more.<h2 dir="ltr">LINK price</h2>Given the real-world use cases of LINK cryptocurrency and how Chainlink has managed to forge fruitful partnerships with big names like AccuWeather, Associated Press, FlightStats, FedEx, Aave, Celsius and many more over the years, LINK price has witnessed noteworthy surges in the past.According to our LINK live price chart, the price of LINK remained well under a dollar from its introduction in 2017 till Chainlink protocol’s official launch on the Ethereum mainnet in May 2019. Thereafter, in 2019, boosted by multiple partnerships with names like Reserve, Polygon and Google Cloud, Chainlink (LINK) price breached the $3 mark by the end of the year.2020 was another remarkable year for LINK in terms of valuation. It became one of the largest DeFi tokens (based on market cap) in July 2020 and went on a strong rally starting from July 2020 to peak around $20 by mid-August of the same year.After some sideways action on the LINK price chart, the price surged again with the market-wide rally in January 2021. This time LINK coin price went as high as $37 in February 2021 and posted its all-time high of $53 on May. 10, 2021. LINK’s fully diluted valuation stood at $53 billion at that point given its max supply of 1 billion coins.&nbsp;A price correction followed thereafter and LINK receded to around $13 by late July 2021. Despite showing signs of resurgence in September and November 2021, LINK remained muted entering 2022.<h2 dir="ltr">How LINK works</h2>While Chainlink launched as a centralized oracle in 2017, in April 2021, the Chainlink 2.0 whitepaper was released, highlighting its transition into a decentralized oracle network. The LINK coin serves as the main incentive for users participating on the network.Chainlink employs a unique proof-of-stake consensus mechanism wherein the participants are required to run their own nodes and must supply data feeds to smart contracts in order to qualify for receiving LINK coin rewards. Not only are LINK coins used as a form of payment to node operators for supplying data, they are also deposited by node operators for validation purposes.As mentioned earlier, Chainlink protocol is blockchain-agnostic. It runs simultaneously on multiple blockchains and offers incentives to its participants for both utilizing as well as providing data. The oracle can be used for any blockchain activity that receives off-line data as its input, ranging from weather predictions to election results.&nbsp;Since LINK is an ERC-20 token, LINK transaction fees (gas fees) and speed are in accordance with that of the Ethereum network.<h2 dir="ltr">LINK news, updates and highlights</h2>In December 2021, Chainlink received a massive boost when <a href="https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/cryptocurrency/articles/breaking-ex-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-joins-crypto-project-chainlink-as-strategic-advisor/">ex-Google CEO joined Chainlink Labs</a> as a strategic advisor. He termed Chainlink a secret ingredient that will help unlock the true potential of smart contracts.Another major LINK news came in December 2021, when Chainlink tied up with AccuWeather, the popular meteorology forecasting provider, to further boost its suite of data feeds from the real world.In 2022, Chainlink is scheduled to roll out LINK staking for holders, something it has been working on for many years. With the introduction of Chainlink staking, LINK price could respond favorably in the future.<h2 dir="ltr">Frequently asked questions about LINK</h2><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">Can you mine or stake LINK?</li></ul>No, at the time of writing, you can neither mine, nor stake LINK. However, Chainlink staking is slated for sometime in 2022. <ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">What are some of the best LINK wallets?</li></ul>Some of the best LINK wallets include Ledger Nano X/S, Trezor, Atomic, Coinbase and Coinomi Wallet along with MetaMask.<ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">What can you do with LINK?</li></ul>LINK is used to incentivize node operators and is the native token of the Chainlink network. LINK holders can actively trade the coin against other cryptocurrencies on established exchanges. Chainlink is also planning to allow LINK holders to stake their coins in the future.<ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">How to buy LINK?</li></ul>You can buy LINK from any of the well-known centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges, including OKX, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and Huobi Global. Buy directly with fiat through the ‘Buy’ option, or look out for trading pairs like LINK/<a href="https://coin360.com/coin/bitcoin-btc" style="">BTC</a>, LINK/<a href="https://coin360.com/coin/ethereum-eth" style="">ETH</a>, LINK/<a href="https://coin360.com/coin/ripple-xrp" style="">XRP</a>, LINK/<a href="https://coin360.com/coin/tether-usdt" style="">USDT</a> and so on, under ‘Markets’, to exchange your crypto coins for it.

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