Chainlink (LINK) is a cryptocurrency and decentralized oracle network created in 2017 by Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis. The main goal of Chainlink is to connect the blockchain with the outside world, enabling smart contracts to receive data off the network, such as market prices, weather conditions, results of sports events and much more. This solves one of the key problems of blockchains — their inability to interact directly with external sources of information.

One of the key features of Chainlink is its decentralized structure. The network consists of many independent oracles that supply data to smart contracts. This ensures high reliability and protection against manipulation, as the data comes from various sources, which reduces the risk of errors and failures. Unlike centralized solutions, which can be vulnerable to attacks, Chainlink provides a decentralized way to transfer data, which makes it safer and more reliable.

The LINK token is used to pay for the services of oracles and to stimulate their accurate work. Token holders can also become node operators and provide data to the network, receiving a reward in LINK. This makes the Chainlink ecosystem self-sustaining and motivates network participants to maintain its functionality.

Chainlink plays an important role in the development of decentralized finance (DeFi), allowing the integration of external data into smart contracts. Thanks to this technology, financial applications on the blockchain can interact with real data, which opens up new opportunities for the development of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.