Blockchain provider Chainlink is preparing to launch staking on the Ethereum network. It is part of a long-term sustainable economic program for the blockchain network.
On Dec. 1, Chainlink provided an update on its staking initiatives. Additionally, the oracle provider confirmed that staking would go live on the Ethereum mainnet on Dec. 6.
Chainlink staking was originally on a 12-24 month lockup period. However, the team has discussed it with the community and operators. The outcome is a more rapid iteration with more frequent releases. Each release will have a “condensed scope focusing on key features,” it added.
“As a result, the next version of Staking (v0.2) is now planned to launch in 9-12 months, at which point v0.1 stakers can unlock or migrate their staked and rewards.”
1/ With Chainlink Staking v0.1 launching on Ethereum mainnet on December 6th, we'd like to provide an update on our iterative approach to building future versions of Staking beyond this initial release and how that will affect important attributes like the lock-up period.
— Chainlink (@chainlink) December 1, 2022
Chainlink Staking Opportunities
The launch of beta Chainlink Staking (v0.1) on Ethereum is only available to addresses that qualify for early access at the moment. These will be able to stake up to 7,000 LINK (worth around $53,270) in a capped staking pool. Eligibility is determined by on-chain and off-chain activity, which is verifiable by the user’s wallets.
On Dec. 8, the staking pool will open to general access for all other LINK holders to participate. Additionally, the initial total pool cap is 25 million LINK, according to the Nov. 30 blog post
The staking v0.1 pool supports the ETH/USD data feed on the Ethereum mainnet. Staking rewards will be issued to users participating in a decentralized alerting system. The system alerts if the data feed has not met “certain performance requirements regarding uptime.”
The staking initiative is part of “Chainlink Economics 2.0.” It enables LINK token holders and node operators to earn rewards for “helping increase the crypto-economic security of oracle services.”
keynoteSmartCon 2022 in September, Chainlink Co-Founder Sergey Nazarov said:
“We also expect that as staking security becomes more in demand, the staked supply will continue to increase.”
He added that Chainlink Economics 2.0 is a way for the network to scale its expansion and security across multiple chains and services to thousands more apps.
LINK Price Outlook
Chainlink’s native token, LINK, has performed well recently, gaining 23% over the past fortnight. LINK prices are currently up 2.2% on the day at $7.62 at the time of press, according to CoinGecko
On Nov. 22, LINK hit a market cycle low of $5.60 but has been recovering strongly. Nevertheless, LINK is still down 85.6% from its May 2021 all-time high of $52.70.
