Here's what I've gathered from Link from spending too much time on this board. It's rare to find actual synopsis' of this fucking thing without digging through "the archive" so here's what I've learned in layman's terms. If I've gotten things wrong, feel free to correct me. More discussion/information is always a boon.
If you delve into the inner workings of how Link will work it is extremely complex and esoteric. You can't truly understand it if you're not educated in programming, blockchain and network infrastructures. And that's really just the tip of the iceberg. There's nuance to how this coin would/could exist that no one here has the level of knowledge/powers of prediction to speak on.
To bastardize/summarize, Chainlink wants to connect API's (think of API's as handshakes) from various entities (corporations/data sources) and connect them using smart contracts (if this, do that), all of which can be theoretically connected together (linked) relatively easily, and/or in an automated way that will supersede current solutions/create new ones.
These contracts will execute their given instructions based on the contracts code. Examples for use case are paying out an insurance policy given a set of parameters that are met e.g. earthquake insurance is automatically processed when a richter scale reaches a certain level. This example only takes into account one source of data (or API) but use your imagination to come up with other examples that can be built on various forms of information coming in. This is the first use for Link.
The second use is to protect this data; hence Link is staked via these processes. Bad actors/bad information are disincentivized to broadcast out because these data sources are required to stake Link tokens as insurance for transactions. If bad information is given, their link tokens are at risk.
If Chainlink becomes adopted, Link price *theoretically* will go up in value as tokens are required to process transactions. But it's impossible at this point to say where a balance will be struck. We are in the fetal stage of this project, pure speculative investing and price discovery. Anyone that tells you otherwise, or says that Link should be worth more (or less) has schizophrenia. It's a complete gamble because blockchain is still trying to find a foothold in anything besides as an investment.
Chainlink is also nothing but code. Blockchain is code. One's and zeroes. Nothing more special. And so, it isn't impossible to say that traditional solutions can't accomplish what Link hopes to achieve as a use case. As the world exists today, this use case is achieved with code and software that sends out and interacts with networks via traditional encryption methods. Could Link be a paradigm shift? Sure, but it needs a ludicrous amount of infrastructure/development.
The psychology of Chainlink threads is interesting. Obviously many threads harp about how Link is the future (see XRP for similarities). This is because Link can be imagined to be utilized by a virtually infinite number of parties in a virtually infinite amount of ways. Succinctly, Chainlink links information together and protects it with Link cryptocurrency. This is the stuff that dreams are made of (mass adoption) and why many Link threads strive on preying on your credulity. Promoters will vaguely/outright accuse you of stupidity for not investing; a common reply is that only those with very high IQ can comprehend Link's future.
Ultimately, a use case for blockchain may be found, or it may continue to be a store of wealth. No one knows. Try not to get caught up in threads that do nothing but use ad hominem without getting into the technical and fundamental aspects of Link (or any crypto). Invest only into what you can understand. Hopefully this helps, maybe not. As always and most importantly, DYOR.
Isaiah Carter
Nobody cares what it does. Price go up sell price go down buy
That gigantic fuckhuge wall of words and you STILL DON'T KNOW WHY CENTRALIZED ORACLES ARE A PROBLEM
AHAHAHAHAHA LOOK AT THE RETARD
Jack Mitchell
Seems like a good synopsis. Not that I would know better.. My impression is that this crypto is powered by hopium. This board wants a second chance at a bitcoin like gain.. It seemingly has some potential, but there also seems to be a lot of big ‘ifs’ attached to this happening. I don’t think, from what I can see..that anyone has any idea what will happen with it, just a hope. I guess we’ll find out..but who knows when.
Nathan Rogers
>it isn’t impossible to say that traditional solutions can’t accomplish what Link hopes to achieve
How would trad solutions do it theoretically
Brody Diaz
It’s biggest use case right now is price feeds for defi. The thing that theoretically drives it up with normies is connecting lazy legacy systems to the blockchain. The thing that ultimately will make it huge is the profits that will be realized by the first big corporations who are able to fire a whole shitload of lawyers and other various middlemen because of efficiency’s gained through smart contracts. At that point anyone who doesn’t follow suit can’t compete and $avalanche$
