February marked the release of the latest version of Chainlink VRF (Verifiable Random Function). VRF is vital to decentralized gaming and NFT art because it introduces secure randomness that cannot be controlled or manipulated. As the blockchain industry’s leading random number generator, VRF currently serves more than 2,200 unique smart contracts across multiple blockchains and powers popular web3 projects like Axie Infinity, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Ether Cards (Galaxis).
Chainlink VRF v2 features several key updates that allow developers to reduce transaction fees by 60% and easily manage secure randomness for multiple smart contracts. Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov said VRF v2 will pave the way for next-gen blockchain-based games and dynamic NFTs (dNFTs).
“I believe the efficiency benefits of v2 will further accelerate its adoption rate across many new ecosystems,” Nazarov said in an official statement.
The year’s shortest month packed in 67 new Chainlink integrations including NFT projects like NBA Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball’s latest dNFT collection and the world’s first decentralized art museum, Musee Dezentral, which integrated VRF to mint the frames adorning its three-story virtual space.
Chainlink oracles are also helping to facilitate the full utility of top-tier NFTs like Bored Apes and CryptoPunks within the growing DeFi economy. Because NFTs are non-fungible, each requires its own accurate price data for use in functions like collateralized lending. In February, NFT portfolio management service NFTBank launched a Chainlink node to bring its price data for individual NFTs on-chain.
NFTBank Product Researcher Andy Ahn told Chainlink Today that bringing its price data on-chain via Chainlink allows NFTBank to reach the widest possible market of web3 developers and unlock the ultimate potential of NFTs.
“Having a reliable and accurate source of data for smart contracts is paramount to the growth of the industry, which Chainlink does best,” he said.
In the decentralized insurance space, blockchain-enabled insurance platform OTONOMI, which integrated Chainlink Data Feeds last summer, expanded its use of Chainlink oracles to launch the first-ever smart contracts-powered air freight insurance index. The Otonomi team celebrated its OTO-USA-1 index becoming an official risk contributor to the Nasdaq Global Index Data Services platform in front of the Nasdaq MarketSite tower in Times Square.
“Chainlink’s oracle solution is an essential building block in our air freight platform automation,” Otonomi CEO Yann Barbarroux told Chainlink Today. “Having the ability to rely on decentralized, secure, and encrypted API services using Chainlink oracles is mission-critical in connecting real assets with our smart contract policies.”
The Chainlink Community Grant Program continues to support organizations that are using hybrid smart contracts to enact positive social and environmental change. Last month, Chainlink Community Grant recipient Hyphen launched a Chainlink decentralized oracle network (DON) to give smart contracts access to a secure source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions data from the ICOS using the Montreal Protocol framework.
The ability to deliver traceable, verifiable greenhouse gases (GHG) and ozone-depleting substances (ODS) data from isolated legacy systems to public blockchains enables a variety of important use cases, such as reporting ecosystems that can enforce emissions accountability and regulatory compliance and reduce corporate greenwashing.
“We wouldn’t be doing what we are today if it was not for the grant program,” Hyphen Global AG CEO Miles Austin told Chainlink Today.
The Flow blockchain network’s novel architecture and unique programming language has created a borderless digital economy of apps, games, and smart contracts powered by its native currency, FLOW. In February, Flow announced the launch of a FLOW/USD Chainlink Price Feed on the Ethereum blockchain, enabling DeFi platforms to integrate FLOW into use cases such as prediction and lending markets.
Matthieu Jobbé-Duval, Head of Financial Products at Dapper Labs (the developer of Flow), told Chainlink Today that the FLOW/USD Chainlink Price Feed is the first step for cross-chain adoption of FLOW for DeFi applications.
Rounding out another milestone-filled month, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov earned a top five spot on Cointelegraph’s annual “Top 100 influencers in Crypto and Blockchain” list. Cointelegraph’s profile of Nazarov highlighted new key features of Chainlink’s critical infrastructure, such as Keepers and CCIP (Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol), noting, “Chainlink’s cross-chain vision is already becoming a reality.”
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