Chainlink Platform

Chainlink Proof of Reserve  provides blockchain applications with the data needed to calculate the current collateralization of any onchain asset backed by offchain or cross-chain reserves. Powered by decentralized infrastructure, Proof of Reserve enables autonomous and programmatic verification of collateral in real-time.

The Secure Mint capability enabled by Proof of Reserve enhances stablecoin and tokenized asset security by verifying that new tokens can only be minted once sufficient reserves are proven to back them. Chainlink Proof of Reserve feeds can also be constructed to provide collateralization data on any type of tokenized asset, such as fiat currencies beyond USD, commodities like gold, or tokenized equities.

Chainlink Data Feeds , a push-based design, fetch and aggregate data from premium offchain data providers, with the aggregated data point then delivered onchain for use by blockchain applications. Chainlink Data Feeds, typically containing a Base and Quote asset pair such as BTC/USD respectively, are pushed when a certain condition is met - e.g. time based Heartbeat triggers every 24 hours, or rate-based Standard Deviation which triggers when the rate changes by 1% - and are widely used across the DeFi ecosystem for use cases such as lending markets, perpetual futures, prediction markets, and stablecoin issuance. Furthermore, Chainlink Data Feeds can be used to deliver critical data required for the tokenization of real-world assets, such as money markets and mutual funds. For example, Chainlink can provide Net Asset Value (NAV) data onchain to support the fund issuance or redemption process. Onchain NAV data is also critical to the creation of onchain markets for tokenized equities, such as to enable their use on decentralized exchanges, lending markets, and perpetual futures platforms, namely as a form of collateral or as a tradeable asset.

Chainlink Data Feeds are comprised of three key components: data providers, individual oracle node operators, and the decentralized oracle network. First, multiple premium data aggregators (e.g., independent data providers) source market data directly from onchain and offchain exchanges, while applying filtering and outlier detection processes to produce a data point that accurately reflects the market-wide price of an asset. Second, multiple enterprise-grade Chainlink oracle nodes—such as Deutsche Telekom’s T-Systems, Swisscom, Vodafone, and Infura—run Chainlink core software and independently fetch data from multiple data aggregators, with each node individually aggregating the data into a single median value. Third, a decentralized oracle network made of multiple independent Chainlink nodes aggregates all the nodes’ responses into a single, medianized, tamper-resistant data point. This final aggregated oracle report is then published onchain in a reference contract for consumption by users (e.g., smart contract applications).

By contrast, Chainlink Data Streams relies on a pull-based design, where decentralized oracle networks update oracle reports offchain and the reports can be posted and verified onchain whenever needed. Verification confirms that the oracle network agreed on and signed the data. Some applications only need onchain data at fixed intervals, which suits push-based oracles. However, others require higher-frequency updates and lower latency. Pull-based oracles meet these needs and still provide cryptographic guarantees about data accuracy. Chainlink Data Streams offers price points, such as mid prices and Liquidity-Weighted Bid and Ask (LWBA)  for Crypto Streams. LWBA prices reflect current order book conditions, providing deeper insight into market liquidity and depth. Data Streams also supports additional parameters, such as volatility and liquidity metrics, helping protocols enhance trading accuracy, improve onchain risk management, and dynamically adjust margins or settlement conditions in response to real-time market shifts. Data Streams API services use an active-active multi-site deployment  model across multiple distributed and isolated origins. This architecture ensures continuous operations even if one origin fails, delivering robust fault tolerance and high availability.

Independent node operators in the Chainlink Network leverage Amazon Web Services (AWS) for secure, reliable, and scalable infrastructure. AWS also powers components and capabilities deployed on the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE).