Santiment finds developers actively building on chainlink, as the project leads ERC-20 coins including $ETH. What’s next for $LINK?

​Santiment finds developers actively building on chainlink, as the project leads ERC-20 coins including $ETH. What’s next for $LINK?  Read More Crypto Projects

How do you measure a blockchain’s success?

Market intelligence firm Santiment thinks it knows: by tracking the number of GitHub development events.

Using that metric, Santiment has found a new leader among ERC-20 chains: Chainlink.

Source: X

Let’s take a closer look at Chainlink, what it does, and what Santiment’s findings mean for the protocol and the broader crypto economy.

A Dev-Centric Metric for Analyzing Crypto Projects

Santiment measures developer events and activity on GitHub. It’s a unique approach, but the analytics company claims it lets them see which projects are attracting developer activity.

There’s no shortage of other metrics, as they tend to grow as fast as the crypto economy itself:

However, Santiment argues that developer activity is a better metric, as it shows both the current success and later potential of crypto projects. That’s because the more dev activity a blockchain has, the more likely it is to win more users and grow.

Over recent months, Chainlink has maintained the top spot in Santiment’s rankings, recording over 400 notable GitHub events. This strong developer activity suggests an ongoing commitment to innovation and long-term belief in the project. 

ERC-20 tokens include Ethereum and projects based on the Ethereum blockchain. ERC-20 refers to the token standard, a set of rules that govern how the smart contracts operate on-chain.

The biggest name in the ERC-20 world is, of course, Ethereum itself, but the family of ERC-20 tokens and compatible protocols is huge and ever-growing. 

Chainlink isn’t a protocol per se; rather, it’s a Greek myth come to life – an oracle.

The oracles of Greek myth were human speakers for the gods, shedding light on their will and making predictions for the common folk.

In crypto, an oracle allows communication between crypto projects and real-world data streams. The information an oracle provides is critical for smart contracts to execute.

Say there’s a DeFi smart contract set to activate if the value of the US dollar drops below a certain level (i.e. in a USD/BTC pair). 

An oracle connects the DeFi protocol to data streams from major financial markets to provide accurate information, allowing the smart contract to execute correctly.

Oracles also communicate between protocols themselves and can facilitate reserve validation and enhance tokenization.

In short, Chainlink is a project that helps other projects. It serves as a vital link in the crypto economy and has its own token – $LINK.

While Chainlink isn’t the only oracle, it’s the only established oracle standard in the crypto industry. 

Conclusion – The Oracle Predicts a Promising Future

Santiment’s data highlights Chainlink’s significant role in the blockchain ecosystem, showcasing a deeper level of engagement and trust in its future.

For that reason, intense development activity (as measured by Santiment) could be a positive sign for the broader ERC-20 and crypto economies.

References

What Is An Oracle In Blockchain (Chainlink)
A Different Look Into Blockchain Ecosystem Development (Medium)
Santiment’s Top ERC-20 Tokens (X)