LINK, the native token of the Chainlink decentralized oracle network platform, is leading the market this morning in a bullish start to the week for cryptocurrencies.
The token spiked to $10.93 earlier today—a level not seen in May 2022 just before the collapse of the Terra ecosystem dragged the markets into a prolonged crypto winter—before backtracking to $10.01 by press time.
At the time of this writing, LINK is up 8% over the past 24 hours, and almost 38% over the last week, according to data by CoinGecko.
Chainlink's impressive performance may be attributed to the growing popularity of its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), the recently launched tech-stack upgrade aimed at simplifying cross-chain transactions.
Introduced in July this year with early adopters including Avalanche, Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon, as well as DeFi lending protocols Aave and Synthetix, CCIP created a standard communication system between different, often incompatible, blockchains.
Last month, Chainlink also integrated CCIP into the Coinbase-incubated Ethereum layer-2 network Base, letting developers build secure cross-chain applications and services.
Decentralization is the holy grail of blockchain buzzwords.
Although it is endlessly touted by crypto advocates far and wide, another hack on the weekend unveiled a not-so-decentralized reality, reviving the industry’s oldest debate.
What does decentralization really mean?
“We are using the word for adoption rather than actual decentralization,” says Sergey Nazarov, the co-founder of the decentralized oracle network Chainlink.
For Nazarov, who alluded to the collapse of Celsius, Voyager, FTX, an...
Beyond Chainlink, the wider cryptocurrency market has continued to enjoy a bullish uptick. Per data from CoinGecko, the overall crypto market cap rose nearly 3%, hitting $1.2 trillion. Of the top ten cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin leads the gains with 4%, followed by Solana (3.2%), Ethereum, and Binance Coin (2.1%).
Bitcoin rose 2% overnight and is now trading at roughly $30,500.
Chainlink CCIP goes enterprise
By simplifying token transfers between blockchains, and reducing complexity compared to third-party bridges, CCIP offers users an enhanced level of protection—a factor that could play a crucial role in the adoption of digital assets given the susceptibility of cross-chain bridges to security breaches and malicious activities.
Notably, CCIP also aims to reach beyond the realm of crypto, opening traditional finance access to crypto.
To that end, Chainlink has been working with major financial institutions, including Swift, BNY Mellon, Citigroup, and BNP Paribas, conducting several blockchain interoperability tests aimed at enabling the transfer of tokenized assets.
Most recently, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)—the leading post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry—became the latest addition to the list of Chainlink’s enterprise partners integrating CCIP.
"The collaboration between DTCC and Chainlink opens the door to a multitude of use cases that could redefine how the financial industry operates."
Stephen Prosperi, DTCC executive director, explains why markets are moving onchain👇
DDTC’s collaboration with Chainlink is part of Swift’s interoperability project, where Swift used CCIP to facilitate secure cross-chain messaging and token transfers, while DTCC served as a token issuer and central securities depository (CSD).
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar, last Friday, leaving the immediate area devastated with at least 2,000 people dead and over 3,400 injured, with the number expected to rise as data from neighboring countries such as Thailand comes in.
The 10-kilometer deep quake released energy comparable to hundreds of nuclear explosions, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. It was the most powerful earthquake to have hit Myanmar since 1912 and so far is the second deadlie...
Terraform Labs has opened an online portal for investors to submit compensation claims for financial losses stemming from the May 2022 de-pegging of TerraUSD.
Managed by administrators at New York-based Kroll, the portal will open on Monday, March 31 and close on April 30, giving loss-making investors a month to file claims.
Applicants will have to submit evidence supporting their filings, including wallet addresses in which Terra-based cryptocurrencies were held, as well as transaction logs for...
Why did Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic from the viral Netflix docuseries “Tiger King,” debut a meme coin on Solana from prison earlier this week?
“I’m knee-deep in lawyer bills,” he told Decrypt in an interview, claiming the endeavor will also benefit children through donations to a nonprofit called Operation Smile.
The 62-year-old, who has lived behind bars for seven years, didn’t launch the meme coin himself. Instead, he said his lawyers helped him get “Official Tiger Kin...