Cryptocurrency markets in 2021 were heavily influenced by “fomo” and were unable to sustain themselves. Many crypto initiatives went bust last year as a result of making lofty promises but failing to deliver on them.
Perfect instances of this are Meme coins, different NFTs, and Binance smart chain tokens. Market promises and pump and dump methods will not determine future success, according to most crypto analysts.
To summarize, a functional, scalable, and well-connected network will outperform currencies that fail to meet expectations in 2022. Because of the inefficiencies in its network, Ethereum (ETH-USD) is likely to remain rangebound for the rest of next year. Superior networks may absorb these dissatisfied users while Ethereum stagnates.
Currently, the market appears to be allocating capital towards coins with superlative technology. ATOM, Fantom, Luna, and Avalanche have all soared in value, while Doge and Shiba Inu have both fallen in value. Speculation plays such as Doge and Shiba Inu have both fallen in value.
Chainlink (LINK-USD), the subject of this article, appears to be a slumbering giant.
According to market capitalization, Chainlink is the 18th-largest cryptocurrency in the world at this time. In my opinion, there is a lack of appreciation for this. Chainlink would be a top 5 token if the market was driven by fundamentals rather than hype.
For most modern crypto investors, a short-term time horizon obscures the long-term potential of Chainlink’s price. Chainlink and the crypto market are linked. This serves as the market’s major and most reliable decentralized data source. Consequently, Chainlink draws web3 developers because of the network’s significant network effect and numerous points of sale.
Through the year 2021, the Chainlink network experienced tremendous expansion. They shared some of their most important data with their followers on December 31st. Chainlink’s data network protects more than $75 billion in value across 1,000+ projects.
Roadmap for Chainlink
On YouTube, Chainlink CEO Sergey Nazarov explained the network’s upgrades for 2022. This year, the implementation of cross-chain interoperability (CCIP), staking, and Chainlink as an abstraction layer for corporations could occur.
The Chainlink network has just seen three major advancements. First and foremost, staking will enable the LINK token’s intended utility and remove millions of LINK from circulation. Developers will be able to use the new cross-chain communication protocol (CCIP) to standardize their work.
Staking
There are multiple DONs (distributed oracle networks) in the Chainlink network, connecting to confirm metrics and transfer information on-chain. Staking encourages all node operators to provide correct data.
To increase network security and ensure data accuracy, LINK staking has a strictly technical purpose.
To get ready for the upcoming 2.0 Beacon Chain hardfork, Ethereum added staking on December 1st, 2020. Since the adjustment, the price of ETH has risen from about $125 to a high of $4,891. At the time of this writing, the Beacon Chain has about 9 million ETH locked in. Staking has reduced the circulating supply of Ethereum by at least 9 million tokens since its inception.
The comparison between Ethereum and Chainlink appears reasonable, despite the fact that they serve quite different purposes. In the world of smart contracts, Ethereum is the most trustworthy network, but Chainlink is the most trusted data supplier. According to this current scenario, the LINK token might be at the same level as Ethereum was in 2020.
Staking’s impact on the LINK token price is currently unknown. That Sergey Nazarov predicted that staking will occur in 2022 is the most essential lesson from this essay. The announcement generated much anticipation, and I know I’m not alone in anticipating it for months or even years.
LINK tokens could be at $33 by the end of February, according to the Token Metric’s new AI system. This gives Chainlink high weekly and monthly ratings.
