During a heartfelt keynote speech on Day One of SmartCon #1, Chainlink Co-founder Sergey Nazarov announced two groundbreaking pieces of news: Chainlink Keepers is live on mainnet and Chainlink’s new Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) will unlock decentralized inter-chain messaging and token movements.
Chainlink Keepers is a decentralized service that allows developers to reliably automate regular smart contract triggers, saving time and resources while minimizing risks associated with manually/centrally performed operations. CCIP is a new global standard for decentralized inter-blockchain messaging, data, and token movements. The protocol allows developers to easily build cross-chain applications through a simple framework that abstracts away the complexity of the underlying protocols.
Nazarov framed these innovations as a monumental step toward a global system of cryptographic guarantees – a superior alternative to the current system of paper promises that has repeatedly failed through centuries of inflation, defaults, booms and busts. He illustrated a spectrum of financial systems, ranging from what he called a “Just Trust Us” model of paper-based guarantees to a system of cryptographic truth, which emerged with the advent of Bitcoin.
“In the scope of history,” Nazarov said, the possibility of a cryptographically guaranteed system essentially “just appeared a second ago.”
The problem with paper-based guarantees was made painfully clear to many Robinhood users this past spring. After centuries of “pushing the gas pedal,” Nazarov said society’s Just Trust Us system of guarantees is “fraying.”
“That model of ‘Just trust us and we’ll do whatever we want’ is coming to an end.”
“That model of ‘Just trust us and we’ll do whatever we want’ is coming to an end.”
Blockchains and smart contracts offer an alternative system without fine print that can be manipulated. “As long as physics and math and encryption work as expected – which is probably the best guarantee you’re going to get in this world – you’re going to get what you expect,” Nazarov said.
In an official press release, Nazarov said CCIP represents a watershed moment in the world’s shift toward cryptographic truth because it “unlocks the full potential of the blockchain industry, allowing the combination of previously disconnected smart contracts.”
“Our goal with CCIP is to create a global open-source standard for how inter-blockchain messaging, token transfers, and advanced interoperation between blockchains will happen across our nearly 100 blockchain partners, which secure 90%+ of all value currently on a blockchain.”
CCIP serves the growing cross-chain interoperability needs of centralized financial (CeFi) services as their users demand more access to DeFi. Market-leading CeFi platform Celsius, which has $16B+ in digital asset holdings and 800k+ users, will leverage CCIP to enable the cross-chain accessibility of its securely-locked funds.
Celsius Co-founder Alex Mashinsky joined Nazarov after his keynote to examine CCIP as a way for CeFi services like Celsius to “future-proof” themselves and scale through comprehensive multi-chain DeFi integration.
Nazarov said CCIP significantly advances Chainlink’s mission to provide cryptographic truth to the world in a secure, easily-consumable, easy-to-use/implement way that will fundamentally change the way the world works. “This will be one of the largest transitions in history,” he said.
“There will be a point in history where people say there was ‘before’ cryptographic truth and there was ‘after.’”
“There will be a point in history where people say there was ‘before’ cryptographic truth and there was ‘after.’”
In hindsight, Nazarov said an antiquated system of flimsy paper promises will seem like a “joke” compared to cryptographically guaranteed systems like DeFi that are, in his view, an inevitability. He envisioned humanity looking back at this moment as the beginning of a “new age of productivity, emerging market growth, reliability and simply just an ability for people to interact with each other in a predictable way.”
“That’s why this will happen,” he said. “That’s why I believe in this.”
Watch Sergey Nazarov’s full SmartCon keynote.