<s>
Chainlink	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
decentralized	O
blockchain	B-Application
oracle	I-Application
network	O
built	O
on	O
Ethereum	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
network	O
is	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
facilitate	O
the	O
transfer	O
of	O
tamper-proof	O
data	O
from	O
off-chain	O
sources	O
to	O
on-chain	O
smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
creators	O
claim	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
verify	O
whether	O
the	O
parameters	O
of	O
a	O
smart	B-Application
contract	I-Application
are	O
met	O
in	O
a	O
manner	O
independent	O
from	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
contract	O
's	O
stakeholders	O
by	O
connecting	O
the	O
contract	O
directly	O
to	O
real-world	O
data	O
,	O
events	O
,	O
payments	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
inputs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chainlink	B-Protocol
was	O
created	O
in	O
2017	O
by	O
Sergey	O
Nazarov	O
and	O
Steve	O
Ellis	O
,	O
who	O
co-authored	O
a	O
white	O
paper	O
introducing	O
the	O
Chainlink	B-Protocol
protocol	B-Protocol
and	O
network	O
with	O
Cornell	O
University	O
professor	O
Ari	O
Juels	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chainlink	B-Protocol
acts	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
bridge	O
"	O
between	O
a	O
blockchain	B-Application
and	O
off-chain	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
network	O
,	O
which	O
services	O
smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
,	O
was	O
formally	O
launched	O
in	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
Chainlink	B-Protocol
integrated	O
Town	O
Crier	O
,	O
a	O
trusted	O
execution	O
environment-based	O
blockchain	B-Application
oracle	I-Application
that	O
Juels	O
also	O
worked	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Town	O
Crier	O
connects	O
the	O
Ethereum	B-Application
blockchain	B-Application
with	O
web	O
sources	O
that	O
use	O
HTTPS	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chainlink	B-Protocol
's	O
trademark	O
was	O
registered	O
in	O
the	O
Cayman	O
Islands	O
on	O
2019-03-12	O
,	O
the	O
corporation	O
created	O
being	O
Smartcontract	O
Chainlink	B-Protocol
Sezc	O
,	O
Ltd	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2020	O
,	O
Chainlink	B-Protocol
integrated	O
DECO	O
,	O
a	O
Cornell	O
project	O
co-created	O
by	O
Juels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DECO	O
is	O
described	O
by	O
its	O
authors	O
as	O
a	O
protocol	B-Protocol
that	O
uses	O
zero-knowledge	B-Protocol
proofs	I-Protocol
to	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
prove	O
information	O
is	O
true	O
to	O
a	O
blockchain	B-Application
oracle	I-Application
without	O
revealing	O
sensitive	O
information	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
birth	O
dates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chainlink	B-Protocol
published	O
a	O
second	O
white	O
paper	O
in	O
April	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
paper	O
,	O
Chainlink	B-Protocol
2.0	O
:	O
Next	O
Steps	O
in	O
the	O
Evolution	O
of	O
Decentralized	O
Oracle	O
Networks	O
,	O
detailed	O
a	O
vision	O
for	O
expanding	O
the	O
role	O
and	O
capabilities	O
of	O
decentralized	O
oracle	O
networks	O
to	O
include	O
hybrid	O
smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
,	O
which	O
utilize	O
on-chain	O
code	O
and	O
off-chain	O
services	O
provided	O
by	O
oracle	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chainlink	B-Protocol
's	O
decentralized	O
oracle	O
network	O
is	O
an	O
open-source	B-License
technology	I-License
infrastructure	O
that	O
allows	O
any	O
blockchain	B-Application
to	O
securely	O
connect	O
to	O
off-chain	O
data	O
and	O
computation	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
network	B-Protocol
nodes	I-Protocol
fetch	O
,	O
validate	O
,	O
and	O
deliver	O
data	O
from	O
multiple	O
sources	O
onto	O
blockchains	B-Application
to	O
execute	O
smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
transfer	O
of	O
external	O
information	O
to	O
a	O
blockchain	B-Application
,	O
Chainlink	B-Protocol
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
several	O
different	O
off-chain	O
computation	O
functions	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
verifiable	O
random	O
function	O
(	O
VRF	O
)	O
and	O
data	O
feeds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chainlink	B-Protocol
's	O
VRF	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
random	O
number	O
generation	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
decentralized	O
gaming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chainlink	B-Protocol
's	O
LINK	O
token	O
is	O
an	O
ERC677	O
token	O
,	O
an	O
extension	O
of	O
ERC-20	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tokens	O
act	O
as	O
data	O
payloads	O
,	O
feeding	O
the	O
required	O
data	O
from	O
off-chain	O
sources	O
to	O
smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
,	O
which	O
then	O
act	O
accordingly	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
data	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
token	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Chainlink	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
trade	O
value	O
derived	O
from	O
these	O
tokens	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
pay	O
node	O
operators	O
for	O
retrieving	O
data	O
from	O
smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
,	O
and	O
also	O
for	O
deposits	O
placed	O
by	O
node	O
operators	O
as	O
required	O
by	O
contract	O
creators	O
.	O
</s>
