According to reports, Chainlink, a provider of cryptocurrency price data and other data for use in smart contracts, this week introduced staking of its native token, LINK. In the first 30 minutes, select holders reportedly locked up 7 million tokens to secure the oracle network, and within two days the staking pool reached its pre-defined limit, with approximately $170 million in value staked. The stake pool is reportedly still in beta, and the pool will initially be limited to 25 million LINK, with a plan to scale up to 75 million over time. The protocol is said to pay stakers 4.75% in annual rewards in the form of LINK tokens. According to a co-founder of the company, staking allows the company to “scale the system by creating incentives that allow the system to grow.”
In other news, a popular encrypted cloud-based instant messaging service released an update on Dec. 6 that reportedly allows users to create accounts using blockchain-based anonymous numbers instead of cellphone numbers. The update also allows users to enable automatic deletion of timers on messages in new chats, according to a report. The anonymous numbers can allegedly be purchased from a separate, decentralized auction company started by the messaging service’s founder, but that service is not offered to residents of the United States. The report also notes that following the recent meltdown of FTX, the messaging service’s founder announced that they are building a suite of decentralized tools, with the intention of rolling out non-custodial wallets and decentralized exchanges.
For more information, please see the following links:
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject. You should seek specialist advice about your specific circumstances.
