Chainlink 2022 ecosystem development, introducing staking functionality, CCIP communication standard, smart contract ecosystem

Chainlink, the decentralized oracle network, released a development roadmap video for 2022 yesterday, outlining plans to launch staking functionality, CCIP communication standards, and its own smart contract ecosystem this year.

Chainlink Introduction

Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network system responsible for delivering off-chain data to smart contracts on the blockchain, serving as a bridge between blockchain and the real world. When smart contracts require information that is not on-chain, an oracle is needed to obtain the correct data to ensure the proper functioning of the smart contract.

Since its development in 2018, Chainlink has provided data for over 1,000 protocols, with AccuWeather and the Associated Press officially partnering with Chainlink for data verification last year. Additionally, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt currently serves as a strategic advisor for Chainlink Labs.

2022 Chainlink Roadmap

LINK Staking

As a protocol that has been in development for over 3 years, Chainlink has yet to introduce staking, leaving many LINK token holders puzzled. However, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov stated:

"The oracle network is a new form of consensus and you can't just copy the staking mechanism from other protocols and turn it on. The real challenge is creating a staking system for a new kind of consensus."

This feature is set to launch this year, allowing LINK holders to protect the network and earn rewards by locking some of their LINK tokens into the protocol.

CCIP Functionality

CCIP will serve as the standard for messaging and communication between global blockchains, similar to the TCP/IP protocol in the internet world.

"So far, there hasn't been a secure system and method to allow people to do this at scale," Sergey Nazarov said.

Building the Smart Contract Ecosystem

As more banks, insurers, and institutions adopt DeFi, Chainlink will establish its own ecosystem to launch smart contracts and provide these enterprises with access to DeFi without the need for protocol integration.

"Enterprises don't want to issue tokens," Sergey Nazarov claims. "They just want to launch derivative contracts, insurance contracts, supply chain contracts ── and you can't do that without an oracle."