In July, the Chainlink ecosystem experienced then-record growth with 62 new integrations. In August, that record was broken yet again with 76 new integrations, including projects like CoinFLEX and Beefy Finance’s no-loss prize pool, Moonpot. August also saw new use cases for Chainlink Keepers – which went live on mainnet during SmartCon #1 – such as bZx’s Keepers integration to increase the reliability of its liquidation mechanism and boost protection for lenders and borrowers.
SmartCon #1 was an inspiring three days of panels and keynotes from hundreds of the most influential leaders in the blockchain space. The global Chainlink community celebrated the virtual event with in-person watch parties (where Covid permitted) around the world, from Vienna to Arizona.
During a heartfelt keynote on Day One of SmartCon, Chainlink Co-founder Sergey Nazarov announced Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) as a new global standard for decentralized inter-blockchain messaging, data, and token movements that provides a simple framework for developers to easily build cross-chain applications.
SmartCon was brimming with exciting announcements from some of the event’s most anticipated speakers. Angel investor and former CTO of Coinbase Balaji Srinivasan gave a fascinating keynote outlining the world’s shift from a flawed fiat information model to a cryptoinformation model enabled by decentralized oracles like Chainlink. Srinivasan seized the opportunity to announce his joint initiative with the Chainlink Grant Program to host a 90-day competition for the best decentralized inflation index.
During a panel called “Slowly then Suddenly? Transforming the Enterprise,” Swisscom’s Aetienne Sardon, Microsoft’s Yorke Rhodes III, Deutsche Telekom’s Dr. Andreas Dittrich and ConsenSys’ John Wolpert joined Base Layer host David Nage to discuss how corporations, enterprises and global conglomerates are preparing for DeFi. Sardon, Swisscom’s FinTech Innovation Manager, used the occasion to announce that Switzerland’s top communication, IT and entertainment provider is now operating its own Chainlink node.
“We believe that with the help of innovative projects and partners like Chainlink we can really position Swisscom to be part of this new decentralized financial system,” he said.
Other notable SmartCon sessions included Sky Mavis COO Aleksander Leonard Larsen’s talk about how NFT game Axie Infinity taps into the essence of the metaverse, an examination of the evolution of the world’s financial services with Chainlink’s Sergey Nazarov And SWIFT’s Jonathan Ehrenfeld Solé, Strata Co-founder Jasper Degens’ interactive presentation illustrating how blockchain unlocks ownership of new artistic experiences, and Flexa Co-founder Tyler Spalding’s keynote about tapping into decentralization’s true value.
If you missed SmartCon #1, don’t worry – you can watch all of the event’s panels and keynotes via the Smart Contract Summit #1 2021 YouTube playlist.
Check out the entire Chainlink ecosystem and get ready for a jam-packed September.
