Thread by @ChainLinkGod

1/ Why does #Chainlink need $LINK?

- Acquired by users to pay oracles for their services
- Subsidize new networks solving chicken or egg problem
- Tie node operator revenue to token whose value is tied to network
- Eventually staked by nodes for further cryptoeconomic security

2/ Fundamentally, having a native token solves the chicken and egg problem

Users aren't going to pay to use a network that is insecure or doesn't exist, and nodes aren't going to contribute to a network without paying users

A token subsidy solves this
smartcontentpublication.medium.com/the-purpose-an…

3/ Additionally, tying the revenue and holdings of Chainlink node operators to a native token whose value is derived from the health of the network incentivizes the proper operation of the network due to their skin in the game
open.spotify.com/episode/4xoQEw…

4/ We see this with existing networks such as Bitcoin where miners are paid in and hold $BTC for their contributions to securing the network, ensuring there is financial skin in the game to disincentivize malicious activity (or otherwise financially harm themselves)

5/ Without $LINK, the Chainlink Network could not exist as networks could not be bootstrapped and node operators would have little skin in the game financially

There is reason why we have seen ZERO oracle networks operating at scale without a native token, it is a requirement

6/ External tokens (anything but LINK) would not tie node operator revenue to the health of the network and would not provide subsidies to bootstap networks

Additionally, centralized stablecoins are not censorship resistant and decentralized stablecoins require oracles to exist

7/ Long term, $LINK will capture value from most dApps on most blockchain networks across most use cases by providing the external resources and computations required to create hybrid smart contracts (protocols pay oracles for these services)
smartcontentpublication.medium.com/how-dapp-value…

8/ If you disagree with me, then provide a viable alternative approach, because as it stands, there is a reason why Chainlink is the most widely adopted oracle solution and the $LINK token plays a fundamental role in making that possible
smartcontentpublication.medium.com/chainlinks-net…

9/ Furthermore, explicit staking will provide the required additional layer of cryptoeconomic security needed to scale the Chainlink network to secure trillions of dollars in economic value

For the same reasons as above, $LINK will be the token used
blog.chain.link/explicit-staki…