Chainlink Functions is a serverless, self-serve web3 development platform that leverages the security and reliability of Chainlink oracles to seamlessly deliver web2 APIs onchain. As the market-leading web3 connectivity solution, Functions allows developers to build next-gen decentralized applications capable of integrating a range of real-world data sources from public or password-protected APIs to IoT devices and enterprise systems.
Today, multinational telecommunications company Telefónica announced it has integrated Functions to securely bring any API on Open Gateway, a global telecoms industry initiative led by the GSMA, onchain. An official announcement describes the integration as “a significant step” in bringing telco capabilities to the blockchain industry, which “demonstrates the need for secure oracle networks to deliver real-world data onchain.”
As the industry-leading decentralized computing platform, Chainlink’s expanding suite of web3 services, including Functions, is secured by the same time-tested oracle network that has delivered over 11.5 billion data points and enabled more than $9.7 trillion in transaction value onchain.
Open Gateway’s standardized APIs are designed to bring innovative telco capabilities to the web3 ecosystem, empowering businesses with use cases that solve various challenges such as fraud prevention and secure account creation. Functions will power the initial use case for Open Gateway’s SIM Swap API, first commercialized by Vivo (Telefônica Brasil), which will enhance the security of blockchain transactions by allowing smart contracts to make information requests to the API while ensuring a device’s SIM card has not undergone unauthorized changes.
The integration initiates a strategic collaboration between Telefónica and Chainlink Labs aimed at advancing web3 with better connectivity and additional layers of authentication and verification.
In an official statement, Chainlink Labs Chief Business Officer Johann Eid underscored how collaborating with Telefónica extends the reach of Chainlink’s oracle infrastructure and furthers the goal of creating a verifiable web that puts users in control.
“Bringing Telefónica’s OpenGateway APIs onchain with Chainlink Functions unlocks novel use cases and greater security for our industry that ultimately better protect users and their assets,” he said.
Yaiza Rubio, Chief Metaverse Officer at Telefónica, added, “Telefónica is delighted to strengthen our relationship with industry leader Chainlink and to present the first use case of the GSMA Open Gateway SIM Swap API, which positions us as a Web3 enabler and will allow us to accompany developers towards the web of the future.”
Rubio will join Telefónica’s VP of Devices and Consumer IoT, Daniel Hernández, and a representative from Chainlink Labs later this month at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, to further discuss Telefónica’s roadmap for facilitating web3 and XR.