Chainlink Comes to Bitcoin Smart Contract Network RSK as Defi Innovation Flourishes
18 hours ago | Sebastian Gold
03:31
Chainlink Comes to Bitcoin Smart Contract Network RSK as Defi Innovation Flourishes
The DeFi juggernaut keeps rumbling on, breaking new records and expanding into new ecosystems. Chainlink, the leading oracle solution within Ethereum’s DeFi sector, has now made the leap to Bitcoin BTC, 2.68% after integrating with RSK. As a result, developers on RSK’s Bitcoin smart contract network will be able to access price feeds and other data points that exist in external environments. These tamper-proof inputs can be used to trigger events using RSK’s Bitcoin-based smart contracts. The solution is now available on testnet, and will be live on mainnet within a few weeks, according to the press release.
“The blockchain space has long wanted to build smart contracts anchored to the security of the Bitcoin blockchain,” explained Daniel Kochis, Head of Chainlink Business Development. “We’re excited to collaborate with the IOV Labs team making that a reality by providing RSK with secure and reliable oracles to empower more useful smart contract applications that fully integrate with widely used data resources and systems.”
Chainlink Rallies and DeFi Soars
ChainLink LINK, 0.93%, whose token is up 800% for the year to date, has been at the heart of the DeFi ecosystem, powering price oracles used by DEXs, aggregators, liquidity protocols, and lending platforms. As the total value locked into DeFi has passed the $7 billion mark, Chainlink has seen its oracles utilized by an ever-increasing number of projects including Synthetix, where it provides prices for real-world assets such as gold and indices.
Chainlink will perform a similar role with RSK, whose DeFi stack brings many of the same capabilities as Ethereum, but anchored to the security of Bitcoin’s PoW chain and the hashpower it carries. RSK developer IOV Labs is hoping to attract developers interested in enhancing Bitcoin’s functionality, paving the way for BTC-collateralized lending and stablecoin issuance. RSK already has its own BTC-backed stablecoin thanks to Money on Chain, providing a way for BTC holders to earn a passive return through locking assets into lending protocols.
