Chainlink Launches Data Streams to Revolutionize Decentralized Finance

By 0xGorki 10/3/23 3:44 PM

Chainlink, the renowned blockchain data oracle provider, has unveiled a groundbreaking product known as “Data Streams.” This innovative offering is set to transform the landscape of DeFi by reducing network latency, enabling faster access to high-frequency market data, and automating trade execution.

Chainlink Data Streams is now in early access on the layer 2 platform Arbitrum, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of decentralized applications (dApps) and financial products.

A New Era of Ultra-Fast and User-Friendly Derivatives

Chainlink Data Streams introduces a game-changing concept by combining low-latency market data and automated execution to unlock a new generation of ultra-fast and user-friendly derivatives products. Low latency market data, in essence, refers to financial data that is delivered without delay. With Data Streams, decentralized applications gain access to high-frequency market data backed by decentralized and transparent infrastructure.

One of the most compelling features of this new offering is its ability to mitigate frontrunning. Frontrunning, a significant issue in DeFi, occurs when traders exploit delays in data updates to gain an unfair advantage. Chainlink Data Streams, when combined with Chainlink Automation, addresses this problem by executing transactions only in response to verified reports, ensuring that transactions are carried out independently from the decentralized application itself.

Use Cases and Potential Impact

Chainlink’s pull-based oracles open up exciting possibilities for a range of DeFi use cases:

Perpetual Futures: The low-latency data and frontrunning prevention capabilities of Data Streams enable on-chain perpetual futures protocols to compete with centralized exchanges while maintaining transparency and decentralization.
Options: Pull-based oracles facilitate timely and precise settlement of options contracts. Furthermore, Data Streams provides detailed market liquidity data that can support dynamic on-chain risk management.
Prediction Markets: Higher-frequency data updates enable applications where users can respond swiftly to real-time events while having confidence in the accuracy of the data used for settlement.

Billing and Pricing

Chainlink Data Streams supports fee payments in LINK and alternative assets, including native blockchain gas tokens and their ERC20-wrapped counterparts. Fees for alternative asset payments come with a surcharge compared to LINK payments, with users paying per report verified. The price of verification varies depending on the stream ID being verified, and batch verification involves payment for all reports within the batch.

Architecture and Key Components

The architecture of Chainlink Data Streams revolves around several core components:

Chainlink Decentralized Oracle Network (DON): This network functions similarly to the DONs powering Chainlink Data Feeds but delivers reports to the Chainlink Data Engine rather than directly on-chain. This ensures that reports are delivered more frequently for time-sensitive applications.
Chainlink Data Engine: The Data Engine stores signed reports and provides them to Chainlink Automation upon request.
Chainlink Verifier Contract: This contract verifies the signature from the DON to cryptographically guarantee that the report remains unaltered from the time of consensus to its usage in applications.

Pull-Based vs. Push-Based Oracles

Chainlink Data Streams stands apart from push-based oracles by offering greater efficiency and lower latency. While push-based oracles provide regular updates on-chain, Data Streams operates as a pull-based oracle. Users retrieve data in a report and use it on-chain as needed, ensuring efficient use of resources. This approach is particularly advantageous for applications that require access to frequently updated data.

In conclusion, Chainlink’s launch of Data Streams represents a significant step forward for DeFi by enhancing the speed, accuracy, and accessibility of market data. As the DeFi ecosystem continues to evolve, innovations like Data Streams are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping its future, offering users a more efficient and transparent financial landscape.

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