That word "Oracle" just never computed for me until I started reading about Chainlink. It seems blockchain has the habit of naming things all fancy pants when they don't even wear pants half the time.
Contrary to popular belief the ones with pants on are the dodgy fucks. Cough Cough TRON, XRP.
As you can guess this is an opinion blog... Yours matter little cough cough TRON, XRP'ers.
Now that I have the niceties out of the way, I really am not a fan of "Hi, how are you." I can start my ramble on Chainlink and friends.
Chainlink is...
unfortunately on Ethereum. I know it just had to be said. It is a data aggregator and through incentives and penalties ensure that the data that is provided is most likely the correct data.
This is where the word "Oracle" really only clicked, I have read about Hive wanting to have Oracles but it never really registered what that is. I know you are yelling source of truth.. Shut up.
So Chainlink is in simple terms a contest between data aggregators.
Using Chainlink
Most examples they use seem so pointless, it is always something like providing a price feed, weather or random number generation (RNG). Don't fall into that trap, because what those examples do is they make you think Chainlink is for everyday use, or run of the mill projects.
It is very much not about the data but about selling the data. So don't think about it in terms of "Cool, I can get reliable information anytime for my app." It is still a service and a second part that oddly fades from memory is the "Smart Contract" part.
So no you would actually not start using Chainlink unless you have actual value to gain from it. This is because every call you make for updated data costs you LINK token.
LINK has mostly only been going up and is $15 right now. Almost all the data provider costs I saw on the market were about 0.1 LINK that is $1.50 per API call... or per bit of information.
I just realised that sounds like I am being a Debby downer on Chainlink. That is not the case, that is just the nature of SASS (Software as a Service).
Getting a price for a price.
Now I can't be sure there are not free data calls, like a free tier. Most of the tutorials apart from the main one in their documentation include a LINK payment for any data they receive.
Again, it is easy to forget this is a service for applications that will actually be making money for the most part based on the data.
If a person just needs general information then you would use a single data source, the data you get from Chainlink costs because you are given more certainty, convenience and it is immutable.
That is to say, it is most likely the correct information because many agree that it is, the convenience of using a single platform and the reliability that comes with that for the future, and the ability to restore state or settling future disputes based on immutable data.
It does cost a lot though, but blockchain does have the uncanny ability to take anything and slap a price tag on. It is like that Supreme clothing brand basically.
Now maybe in the future, the data providers on the chain will have more dynamic pricing. At a quick glance it seemed very static and I know someone said you bid, but I also think it is a case of the app needs the data and people will charge what they charge or your app fails.
That is the nature of Enterprise.
Which is what made me a bit glum the more I read about Chainlink. It makes sense all of it, why I have to pay. So it is up to the consumer (contract) to ensure they have the correct triggers so they don't end up spending a fortune just requesting useless data.
Options
Now if Chainlink is the enterprise solution for Oracles what are the ones for the everyday Joe.
Even as I say that, I have to remind myself it probably does not matter that a person has to pay for aggregated and quality data because the contracts using that data make enough money. It is a niche.
But, but... Beyond that having Oracle API's for data and having it available affordably if not free is something that can be standardized and even should be.
As you can see in the above image, cryptoslate lists only 7 other tokens classified as Oracles, and a few results in the same search turned up mostly the same apart from the one which mentioned Aeternity and DOS.Network.
I have only glanced at their sites, but now it is not so much about what chain it is but how the service works. I think an Oracle for data is definitely worth the money depending on your application. It is also something worth having available for free.
Sure you can already get all that data free anyway and most likely as it stands you would probably just not use an Oracle for the majority of requests and only use it to finalize a transaction.
In time as more apps get bootstrapped to respond to real data on anyone of the utility chains and not just in a Pay to Win or DeFi realm then the chains that do provide this service will want to be able to do so at a minimal cost.
Many chains and obviously many of these ETH things will always suffer when it comes to costs of just about anything. Graphene for one and probably many I do not know already should be able to provide the exact same services at almost no cost beyond what you would find in traditional api providers.
For now it is definitely interesting to learn more about not just Chainlink and friends but Oracles and their uses as everything progresses. As Facebook has taught us many times over, data is power and money... Or is that the CIA, no FBI? Nope, it was my bank, always selling shit to the highest bidder.
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Chain stink is a glorified overhyped ERC token hasn’t done much and they still haven’t figured out how they will process and reward oracle data properly haven’t seen soemtbing so overhyped since TRX and XRP
It does NOTHING a people, where is this so called chain link data market we can all tap into? I don’t see it
BAND is doing the same thing and at least launche it’s own chain even though it also hasn’t done jack shit lol
lol and here I was thinking I should not say too much because I might be missing something... I think most ERC20 only benefit from tapping into an existing market of "jetsetters" where is FNB them to make up shit names when you need them. I like the idea of Oracle though and will be looking into it more, that Aeternity chain also has it built into their chain so will be checking it out. If we can make a few bucks from sheeple hype then that is also good.
LOL oh don't get me wrong I own LINK and happy to let those shill farmers pump my bags so I can dump it, I just think this project is like ADA and many others all talk and haven't delivered fuckall, just like FNB
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STOPGood point.