About Chainlink
What are Chainlink and LINK?
Chainlink provides oracle infrastructure, which lets smart contracts use information and computation beyond their own blockchain. LINK is the token used to pay providers of Chainlink services and participate in its staking system. The asset listed here is LINK on Ethereum. Chainlink operates through multiple oracle networks configured for particular services. LINK ownership alone does not operate an oracle node, subscribe an application to a data feed or give the holder control over every Chainlink service.
Why do smart contracts need oracles?
A smart contract can read its blockchain's records, but it cannot independently fetch a price from an external website during execution. Oracles bring external information into a form the contract can use. Chainlink Data Feeds use networks of node operators to produce reports from data sources. Developers choose the feed and decide how their application handles its answers. Reliability depends on those sources, the reporting rules and the application's checks, including how it handles an outdated price.
What is LINK used for?
LINK compensates service providers and supports Chainlink's staking system. Slashing rules depend on the staking version and participant type. The published v0.2 rules allow specified node-operator stakes to be slashed for a valid performance alert; community stakers are not subject to slashing in that version. Staking also has rules for rewards and withdrawals. Ethereum validators separately stake ETH to secure Ethereum blocks. Holding LINK in a NonLogs balance does not enroll it in either staking system.
How is LINK supply managed?
The original Ethereum LINK contract defines a fixed total supply of one billion tokens, with 18 decimal places. Its constructor allocated that supply when the contract was deployed. Moving existing LINK from reserves into staking rewards or other distributions changes who holds the tokens without increasing that original total. Circulating-supply estimates can exclude certain holdings, so they need not equal the contract's total supply. Oracle service usage does not set a fixed market price for LINK.
What should I check before transferring LINK?
Match the Ethereum LINK contract shown in the facts panel and use the network on your deposit page. LINK uses ERC-677, which extends ERC-20 with a transfer-and-call operation for contracts. Ordinary token transfers are public Ethereum transactions, with network fees paid in ETH. LINK also exists on other networks through separate contracts. An address that looks the same across two networks does not make their balances interchangeable, and this listing accepts the Ethereum version.
Where can I trade LINK on NonLogs?
Use the markets below to open a LINK pair. Prices in the trading-pairs table below come from completed NonLogs trades; they are separate from prices delivered by Chainlink Data Feeds to other applications. Check the current order book and the last-trade time before placing an order. Buying LINK here credits your exchange balance. It does not configure an oracle service or submit a transaction to the Chainlink staking contracts.