Chainlink is not only the first mover of decentralized oracle solutions; it is also the 22nd largest digital asset by market capitalization.
This article takes an overview of Chainlink, the twenty-second most valuable digital asset, its core areas of business, and - most importantly for prospective investors - the pros and cons which can help answer the question: Should You Buy Chainlink?
Chainlink returned 66% for investors in 2021. Associated with pump and dump schemes at first which was shrugged off by co-founder Sergey Nazarov, Chainlink has been relatively stable for the past two years.
Although cryptocurrencies are volatile, it has remained fairly stable in price with not much fluctuation. Grayscale has added Chainlink to its growing lists of Trusts. Aside from that, Chainlink has made an upgrade on its network which has increased the speed of processing on-chain real-world data.
Chainlink has also released a new white paper that details an improvement on its network which would see the creation of more smart contracts and innovative applications.
Can the first mover of decentralized oracle solutions survive competition from Band, Tellor and Nest among others? Is Chainlink a good investment? Will Chainlink result in gains for investors in 2022 and beyond? Will more Chainlink Killers be developed to compete with the decentralized oracle network?
More importantly, for new traders and investors, what are the pros and cons which can help answer the question: Should I buy Chainlink?
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Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Contents:
- Chainlink at a Glance
- PROS of Buying LINK
- CONS of Buying LINK
- Better To Invest In Bitcoin Or Chainlink?
- Chainlink Price Prediction: What Are Analysts Saying About Chainlink?
- How Much Will Chainlink Be Worth in 2025?
- Can Chainlink Reach $10,000?
- Will Chainlink Reach $100?
- Chainlink Price Prediction: What Will Chainlink Be Worth by 2030?
- The Bottom line - Should You Buy Chainlink?
- FAQs
Chainlink At A Glance
Sergey Nazarov, a technology entrepreneur and Steve Ellis, a chief technology officer, are widely credited as the founders of Chainlink in 2017. Chainlink was created in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. Upon seeing several blockchains created which were providing the same functions, the founders decided to create a technological solution that would provide real-time data to help several businesses.
What is Chainlink?
Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network with an aim of connecting smart contracts with real-world data. Chainlink can also be referred to as an open-source technology that is collectively developed by a large community of developers, researchers and users with a common goal. This goal is to build an oracle network for the good of the public which would benefit the ecosystem of the entire blockchain space in the world of decentralized finance.
With this, Chainlink provides tamper-proof inputs and outputs and extensive reliability for complex smart contracts.
Chainlink Labs is behind the blockchain and its novel token. Its ticker symbol is LINK, which is also the novel token of the network.
What are the Chainlink Oracles?
Chainlink Oracles can also be referred to as middleware is software that acts as an intermediary which translates data from the real world to smart contracts on Chain’s network and back again.
Chainlink Oracles came about as a result of an increased difficulty in connecting outside information sources to smart contracts on blockchains.
Why Was Chainlink Created?
Chainlink came into existence with a primary purpose of expanding the capabilities of smart contracts. This is constantly done by enabling accessibility to the real-world in a timely manner. With this, events, payments and other functions can be performed without sacrificing the security guarantees and reliability which is inherent to the blockchain technology.
Price Performance of LINK in 2017
LINK has had great days in terms of bullishness and bearish declines. Data provided on the price history of the cryptocurrency were retrieved from Yahoo Finance and Investing.com.
Chainlink began trading on 30th September 2017 with a price of $0.45 and closed at $0.60 by the end of 2017. LINK returned 33.33% in a 3-month period. Much of the gains were attributed to positive market sentiments for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of a little over $20,000 in December 2017 which explains LINKs rise to the end of the year. The following year was not as bullish as all cryptocurrencies dropped further to new lows.
Price Performance of LINK in 2018
On 1st January 2018, LINK had an opening price of $0.60 and by 2nd February had dropped to $0.49. The cryptocurrency ended 31st March 2018 with new lows of $0.27. Bitcoin’s plunge in price was affecting all cryptocurrencies and LINK was not spared. The crypto trading asset dropped to $0.18 at the end of June. At the end of September and December, LINK had trading prices of $0.32 and $0.29 respectively. In the process, LINK shed 57.971% of its price.
Price Performance of LINK in 2019
The year 2019 was billed as a year of recovery for digital assets. LINK opened at a relatively better price of $0.32 on 1st January 2019. The digital asset closed March with a price of $0.49. LINK touched a $1 price milestone for the first time on 19th May 2019 and settled at $1.02 to close the year.
The Chainlink cryptocurrency soared to new highs to close out June with a price of $3.25. A correction followed and LINK closed September and December with prices of $1.64 and $1.76 respectively. There was a return of 450% for investors.
Price Performance of LINK in 2020
Tagged as the coronavirus year, the pandemic brought the financial markets on its knees during its peak in the month of March and April. LINK opened at $1.81 and closed at $1.76 on 1st January 2020.
The cryptocurrency closed at $2.00 by the end of March. An increase in price ensued which propelled LINK to end June with a price of $4.54. The digital asset ended the months of September and December by soaring to new price highs of $9.60 and $10.97 respectively. In the process, LINK returned 506.077% for investors.
Price Performance of LINK in 2021
LINK began 1st January 2021 with a trading price of $11.84. The cryptocurrency increased nearly 3 times and closed March 2021 with a price of $29.35. On May 10 Chainlink reached its current all-time high of $52.88. Following the crypto market drop in July, Chainlink fell to under $14, but in September it rose up to $34. Link ended the year at around $20.
Price Performance of LINK in 2022
LINK started the year around $20 then climbed to $27 in January, but by the end of the month, LINK was trading for $15. By the end of April, LINK price was fluctuating between $12 and $19. The crypto market crash in the summer of 2022 brought the price of LINK to a low of $5.8.
Currently, LINK has a trading price of around $7.1 with several analysts forecasting a price for the close of 2023 at $12. What are the driving factors behind LINKs surge in price? What are the pros and cons which would help you determine if LINK is a good investment?
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Pros Of Buying LINK
LINK has followed the path of Bitcoin and other altcoins to rally in 2021. LINK returned 66% in 2021 for investors. There are several novice traders and investors who may question the primary drivers of such a leap in price and they are not wrong. Let us take a look at the pros of buying Linkchain LINK.
✅ Benefits from Its First Mover Advantage despite Competitors
Chainlink is not isolated in the decentralized oracle space. It faces competition from others. Despite this, Chainlink first’s mover status has propelled the network to reach 500 integrations and have as much as 500,000 non-zero active wallets. Such a milestone was achieved when Chainlink added a decentralized finance monetary system called Gaugecash.
As per a tweet by Chainlink’s Official Channel in April 2021, the network’s integrations include 22 Non-Fungible Token (NFT) projects, 33 infrastructure, 24 gaming projects, 64 node operators, 43 data providers, 84 blockchains and a whopping 213 decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.
This certifies the extensive use of the LINK cryptocurrency which explains the huge trade volumes it has been recording in the month of April and early May.
Additionally, more partnerships (integrations) could lead to an exponential increase in the cryptocurrency’s utility through its network. This could reflect substantially in the price of the cryptocurrency. In the process, it could push LINK into the top 10 cryptocurrencies in the world.
✅ Developer Activity Is Increasing
Several crypto projects fail as a result of a lack of innovation by developers. As a decentralized oracle service provider with competitors, having more developers create new smart contracts using Chainlink’s service helps the price of the cryptocurrency. This is because it powers the whole network.
As per information retrieved from Sanbase, Chainlink ranked number 13 with 235 in developer activity in October 2022.
Excerpts of the White Paper titled Chainlink 2.0 Lays Foundation for Adoption of Hybrid Smart Contracts, points out that, “The whitepaper introduces a new architecture for building hybrid smart contracts, where Decentralized Oracle Networks offer key capabilities that blockchains cannot, serving as a secure off-chain computation layer that partly relies on blockchains for security yet operates with the connectedness, feature-richness, and scalability of off-chain systems.”
This means more innovations on the Network would bring more users and increased activity on the cryptocurrency.
✅ Constant Upgrades
The latest upgrade which is of keen importance is the increment in the time of providing data on Off-Chain Reporting. Through this upgrade, Chainlink provides a 10-fold increase in the amount of real-world data that can be made available to smart contract applications.
This upgrade has helped solve problems such as on-chain congestion which was previously associated with the aggregation of data on-chain. This upgrade has decreased overhead on node operators which normally led to inefficiencies in the availability of data. With relatively faster times in delivering real-world data, more chains could benefit from this feature. This would reflect positively on the market value of the cryptocurrency.
✅ Provide Long-Term Stability and Viability
When cryptocurrencies were created, it had two main features. They are decentralization and security. Till this day, only Ethereum (ETH) has had a strong hack attempt made on its blockchain. The developers of the project had to make upgrades to reverse the hack. It created Ethereum Classic and the current version of Ethereum being used by traders and investors.
This means that if there are more than one blockchain, due to its features, it is impossible for the chain to receive information from an outside source. This is the main reason why several technologies such as Chainlink have come in to solve a unique problem.
Since blockchain must be decentralized, Chainlink provides features such as serving as a layer for off-chain resources as well as the creation of smart contracts. This feature is helping all blockchains live, grow and succeed in a space mired by controversies such as hacking, scamming and a possible ban by various regulatory bodies worldwide.
With LINK, cryptocurrencies are rest assured that they would continue to survive successfully. Additionally, Chainlink provides relatively better functions in a relatively faster way than traditional financial institutions.
✅ Laws of Demand and Supply Could Set In To Drive Price
It is a known fact that scarcity makes an asset valuable. In October 2021, the circulating supply of the LINK was 459,509,553. Currently, LINKs circulating supply stands at 491,599,970.
In one year, 32,090,417 have been mined. If the developers of LINK do not make the same mistake Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer made by adding more dogecoins, LINK could become scarce. Once this happens, holders would set prices for the cryptocurrency. This would lead to a relatively higher price and capitalization.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Cons Of Buying LINK
Despite the positives associated with LINK and the forecast being made by analysts, LINK is not a perfect cryptocurrency. Like all the other digital assets, it is extremely volatile and sensitive to global economic news.
You can invest in the cryptocurrency as a way to support its underlying technology until it gains grounds in the decentralized finance space. The following are the cons you should have in mind. It would guide you in making an investment decision on the crypto trading asset.
❌ Other Decentralized Oracle Networks Have Joined the Crypto Finance Space
Chainlink is the pioneer of decentralized oracle networks. This does not mean the protocol has a monopoly on providing a layer for off-chain resources and smart contracts.
When Satoshi Nakamoto created and released Bitcoin in 2009, Litecoin followed in 2011. In the last 10 years, thousands of coins have been created which provides similar functions as a transactional digital currency.
Ethereum (ETH) introduced the possibilities of blockchain through smart contracts. In the last 4 years, Tron, Cardano, EOS and NEO have joined the train and are competing for users of decentralized finance applications. In the same way, other decentralized oracle networks have cropped up providing the same functions and competing for the same users.
Some of these protocols are Band, Decentralized Oracle Service, Decentralized Information Asset, Tellor and NEST.
Decentralized Oracle Service (DOS) has the aim of boosting the usability of blockchain with computational power and real-world data in a manner which will maintain blockchains.
With Tellor Protocol (TRB) trading at a relatively higher price as a result of its relative scarcer status, LINK faces stern competition. Others such as Band Protocol (BAND) command great daily volumes and provide the same service as Chainlink.
This means that LINK would have to add more partnerships. Additionally, Chainlink would have to maintain its current maximum supply for the laws of demand and supply to set in. Without this, other decentralized oracles may soon become Chainlink Killers. They may go on to surpass LINK and be ranked among the largest cryptocurrencies in the world.
❌ Its Survival Depends on Bitcoin and the Whole Crypto Finance Space
It is a known fact that all cryptocurrencies follow the path of Bitcoin through bullish seasons and bearish declines. Bitcoin has moved on from a mere digital transactional currency to a store of value. This has seen it soar to new price highs which is followed closely by Ethereum.
Any global economic news which affects Bitcoin negatively could automatically lead to the demise of the cryptocurrency space. This is because many people tag cryptocurrencies with Bitcoin. In the near future, no one knows what is going to happen.
If Bitcoin tests $100,000 and Ethereum tests $10,000, there is a huge chance that regulation could set in. This could result in a huge sell-off by traders and traders which could see you lose a huge sum of your money.
Although there is FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) at the moment, the cryptocurrency market is a volatile one. Invest an amount of money you can afford to lose and see where it can take you as per the goals of your investments.
Better To Invest In Bitcoin Or Chainlink?
Bitcoin and Chainlink are blockchain technologies which are extremely different. Bitcoin is seen more as a transactional currency while LINK powers the network of Chainlink.
Bitcoin has progressed from being seen and used as a mere transactional currency over the last year. From 2020, it has seen a huge rise in institutional investments. Grayscale, Mutual Funds, Public and Private Enterprises have all made stakes in the purchasing of Bitcoin.
Actions like these have transformed BTC from being used to settle transactions online to being recognized as a store of value. This is why it’s regarded as digital gold across several financial circles.
In consideration of an investment in the near future, LINK could be a better investment for investors who have a relatively smaller capital. Investment in LINK in the early days of 2021 saw Grayscale (the largest digital assets management firm) record more than 41% in gains in less than 3 months.
LINK is trading around $7.1 while Bitcoin trades below $20,000. A $1000 investment in Bitcoin would only increase 100% if Bitcoin doubles its current price to more than $40,000. The outcome for you as an investor would be a total of $2000 (capital and profit of $1,000 each).
With the same $1,000 invested in LINK supposed its price was $8, 125 LINKs could be purchased. In the event LINK increases substantially to $20 in the near future, a mere investment of $1,000 could result in $2,500.
Bitcoin would always have the first mover advantage in terms of popularity and market capitalization. Unfortunately, it’s trading at a price so high that only institutional investors or high staking individuals can cause a substantial increase in the asset’s price at the moment. Because of this, LINK could bring a relatively better return than the parent crypto. LINK could be a better investment than Bitcoin.
Read More: Top 10 Most Important Cryptocurrencies Other Than Bitcoin
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Chainlink Price Prediction: What Are Analysts Saying About Chainlink?
Several analysts and experts across the financial investment space have made strong predictions about Chainlink. While most of the analysts remain bullish about the future of the cryptocurrency, others resorted to making conservative forecasts. Let us take a look at what Chainlink could be worth in 2021 and the years beyond.
Digital Coin Price forecasts Chainlink LINK to be valued at $12 by the end of 2023, $16 by the end of 2024, $20 by the end of 2025, $27 by the end of 2028 and $40 by the end of 2030.
The analyst at CoinPedia predicts Chainlink could be traded at an average price of $15 by the end of 2023 and might reach a high of $19.5. According to CoinPedia, LINK could reach a maximum of $56.97 by the end of 2025.
According to experts at Coin Price Forecast, Chainlink could be worth $8.7 by the close of 2023. Experts further predict the price of Chainlink to be valued at $9.8 in 2024, $14.67 in 2026, $17.30 in 2027, $18.59 in 2028, $20.98 in 2029, $22 in 2031 and $24 in 2032.
Trading Beasts believe LINK could decrease slightly in price to close 2023 with an average price of $7.5. Experts at the financial news portal think Chainlink could be worth $10 and $12 by the end of 2024 and 2025.
Torsten Hartmann of Captain Altcoin has opined that “The price of LINK in 5 years could lie around $ 16.45, according to CaptainAltcoin’s prediction model.”.
Crypto Geek thinks LINK could be worth around a minimum of $46 and a maximum of $53 by the end of 2023.
How Much Will Chainlink Be Worth In 2025?
According to Digital Coin Price, Chainlink could be worth $20 by the end of 2025.
According to experts at Coin Price Forecast, LINK could be trading for as much as $11.93 by the end 2025.
According to Captain Altcoin LINK could reach $24.83 in 2025.
Crypto Geek estimates LINK to reach a minimum of $113 and trade for a maximum price of $144 to close out 2025.
Can Chainlink Reach $10,000?
Unfortunately, there is no crypto financial news portal which has made such a forecast that Chainlink could reach $10,000 someday. All the experts and analysts have been extremely modest in their predictions for the cryptocurrency.
Considering LINKs all-time high price is $44.40, the next milestones the LINK MARINES (investors and participants of the Chainlink ecosystem) are expecting are $50, $100, $150 and $200 in the near future.
It is not impossible, but it would be extremely difficult for LINK to reach $10,000 by the end of 2023, 2024 or even 2025.
That price milestone is for the long term and could be reached when LINK becomes the primary decentralized oracle network for all developers. This would have a great effect on the price of the cryptocurrency in terms of volume and market capitalization.
Will Chainlink Reach $100?
According to Crypto Geek, Chainlink will touch the $100 mark for the first time in 2025.
Chainlink Price Prediction: What Will Chainlink Be Worth by 2030?
Experts at Coin Price Forecast believe Chainlink would be worth $18.97 by the close of June and maintain its price to close out the year at $19.97 by the end of 2030. As per the price forecast of Torsten Hartmann of Captain Altcoin, LINK could be worth 100 times of its current price of $62.08 by the close of 2030 if it maintains its relevance in the space.
Don't Miss: Chainlink Price Predictions
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
The Bottom line - Should You Buy Chainlink?
It is no doubt that Chainlink is on a path to becoming one of the top cryptocurrencies. We have already seen a number of good reasons why Chainlink could be a stable investment. Chainlink will no doubt see more mainstream adoption than most of the more established cryptocurrency platforms out there.
Chainlink is worth buying as per the price forecasts of several experts across Digital Coin Price, Coin Price Forecast, Captain Altcoin, Cryptopolitan, CoinPedia and Trading Beasts among others.
LINK has got the underlying technology which can bring long-term stability and viability to the whole crypto finance space. In the not-too-distant future, Chainlink is going to enjoy the fruits of being a first mover in decentralized oracle. This would give LINK a competitive advantage over others such as Band Protocol (BAND) just like Ethereum and Bitcoin are first movers in terms of smart contracts and blockchain technology.
In April 2021, Chainlink released a new white paper which details future development. Excerpts of the paper pointed out that Chainlink would be enabling a full range of oracles which would function and provide an interface layer for off-chain resources and smart contracts.
There are several cryptocurrencies which have been created in the last ten years. Fortunately, Chainlink is the first network to provide input on a variety of external sources of data.
Investing in Chain LINK could be a good investment.
The Chainlink altcoin is currently enjoying a bullish run, and analysis from leading crypto experts suggests that it will continue soaring for the better part of the year. As a result, LINK is a digital asset which could be added to your portfolio to see where it would take you as per your investment goals.
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Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
FAQs
Is Chainlink Worth Investing In?
Chainlink is relatively cheaper to buy when compared to other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. In terms of decentralized oracles, it’s the first mover and network of choice for several developers.
As per analysis done by Trading Education, LINK could be worth $20 by the end of 2025. This milestone could be reached if Chainlink maintains its partnerships and integrations. LINK could be worth more if it constantly upgrades its platforms to offer more than a layer for off-chain resources and smart contracts
What Will Chainlink Be Worth?
Chainlink could be worth at least $20 and at most $100 in the near future. Several analysts and experts across different financial news outlets have made bullish predictions about the cryptocurrency. Since Chainlink has not crossed $50 in price, such figure remains the highest price LINK could test. After reaching that milestone, LINK can then go on through its partnerships and integrations to increase substantially towards other milestones such as $100, $250, $500, $750 and then $1,000.
Is Chainlink A Good Investment In 2022?
Chainlink is a good investment in 2022. Chainlink has been able to reach certain milestones which would propel the cryptocurrency to new highs in the not-so-distant future.
In the early months of 2021, the largest digital asset management firm in the world, Grayscale announced a TRUST in the name of the cryptocurrency. The Trust has since soared substantially.
At the same time, the number of Chainlink integrations and the number of users had increased significantly. On average, as per predictions being made by analysts, LINK could reach $30 by the end of 2022.
Is Chainlink on Polkadot?
Chainlink is integrated on Polkadot as a pallet. This gives teams specifically those who are building parachains based on the substrate framework a direct approach which them access high-quality external market data.