The information about Chainlink (LINK) token is as follows: Chainlink (LINK) is a decentralized oracle network launched on the Ethereum blockchain in 2019, designed to connect smart contracts with real-world data, APIs, and external systems in a secure and reliable manner. The LINK token, an ERC-20 token with ERC-677 extensions, serves as the native cryptocurrency of the Chainlink ecosystem, facilitating payments to node operators who retrieve, validate, and deliver off-chain data to on-chain smart contracts. Founded by Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis in 2017, with a whitepaper co-authored alongside Cornell professor Ari Juels, Chainlink addresses the "oracle problem" by providing tamper-proof data feeds essential for decentralized applications (dApps), particularly in DeFi, insurance, gaming, and tokenized real-world assets (RWA). The network operates through a decentralized system of independent oracle nodes, which aggregate data from multiple sources to ensure accuracy and integrity, incentivized by LINK tokens staked as collateral to guarantee honest behavior.

Chainlink’s architecture is blockchain-agnostic, though it originated on Ethereum, and has since expanded to support other blockchains like Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, and Avalanche through bridged LINK tokens. The ecosystem includes features like the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), which enables secure communication and token transfers across different blockchains, and Chainlink Verifiable Random Function (VRF) for provably fair randomness in gaming and NFTs. Node operators stake LINK to participate, earning rewards for providing accurate data, while users pay in LINK to access these services. The total supply of LINK is capped at 1 billion tokens, with 35% distributed during an initial coin offering (ICO) in September 2017, raising $32 million, and the remainder allocated to the team, ecosystem development, and Chainlink Labs. Additional functionalities include off-chain computation, privacy-preserving compute via DECO (acquired in 2020), and legacy system connectivity, positioning Chainlink as a critical infrastructure layer for Web3. Posts on X and the official Chainlink website emphasize its partnerships with major institutions like Swift, Google Cloud, and Fidelity International, highlighting its role in bridging traditional finance and blockchain technology.