Chainlink aims to build a bridge between payment services and blockchain systems. A marriage between Amex, Visa, plus banks like HSBC and blockchains such as Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Originally called ‘Smart Contract’, the project then changed its name to Chainlink, and the ticker symbol ‘Link’. 

Chainlink held an ICO in September 2017 and was noted for being the world’s first decentralized oracle service. This means it improves on the original smart contract model on Ethereum by allowing contracts to access data feeds and APIs. 

Chainlink is built on the Ethereum network and the native Link token rewards node operators for the retrieval of data from external sources, turning it into a blockchain readable format.

What are the project's goals?

To bring interoperability to payment providers and cryptocurrencies. A good way to look at it is that Chainlink wants to act as a bridge between the old world and the new. 

The goal is to open up blockchain on a global scale by, for example, connecting data to insurance providers to calculate premiums, tracking goods on global supply chains. The Chainlink project thinks big - and it doesn’t get much bigger than a partnership with SWIFT, the global payment service.

Connecting smart contracts to “real actionable” data presents a vast opportunity. Without access to such data, smart contracts are limited to use cases relying on on-chain data - information stored on the blockchain. Chainlink has created a decentralized network that connects smart contracts to off-chain services, such as a payment network like Worldpay.

How much Chainlink/Link is on the market?

Chainlink has a large supply, which means a low entry price and good accessibility to the network. But Chainlink is unlikely to reach the kind of prices enjoyed by Bitcoin, which has only around 21 million units available. 

There is 350,000,000 LINK on the market, with a total supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens. 

What the bears are saying about ChainLink (LINK)

Is SWIFT its Achilles heel? There is no denying that having a partnership with SWIFT is a huge advantage for Chainlink. But could it also hold the project back?  Diversification through many partnerships can be a surer way to long-term success. 

Marketing: Many cryptocurrencies rely on hype and don’t have a great product. Chainlink, on the other hand, doesn't do much marketing. Some analysts believe this is a mistake and that they should be doing more to attract the right partnerships.

What the bulls are saying about ChainLink (LINK)

One of the best teams: The Chainlink team is one of the best and most experienced teams in the sector, with the parent company, smartcontract.com, opening in 2014. The domain name was registered back in 2008, before even Bitcoin. 

Interoperability: A huge deal if the project takes off. The opportunity is to create improved interoperability between off-chain services.