1/ I want to give some perspective on the economics of #Chainlink services, both in their existing form today and how it will evolve into the future
This includes many nuances regarding user fees, cost-efficiency, network subsidies, economies of scale, and sustainability
🧵
2/ The ultimate long term goal is that all Chainlink services become self-sustaining through user paid fees
Many services already achieve this today, but how pricing is determined and the role of $LINK in terms of demand for these services is a common question
3/ I'll start with Chainlink Any API as it's the easiest to conceptualize
Any API enables smart contracts to fetch data from any off-chain data source via Chainlink nodes, which can be operated either by DevOps teams or the data providers themselves
@spencernoon The demand/supply ratio of Ethereum's blockspace is higher than any other
Demand is high because of the high level of security from decentralization and network effects
Supply is low because of the social contract of decentralization, achieved by limiting hardware requirements
@spencernoon Other L1 blockchains have lower fees because their demand/supply ratio is lower than Ethereum's
Fee are low because less there's less demand for blockspace (compared to Ethereum) and/or there is a greater amount of blockspace (thus higher hardware requirements)
@spencernoon Monolithic blockchains generally have two paths as adoption rises
Increase blockspace to keep fees low (raise hardware requirements and therefore centralize the network)
Keep blockspace static/low to ensure decentralization, but at the trade off of higher fees
2/ Oracle computation is the process of using decentralized oracle networks (DONs) to perform off-chain computation on the behalf of smart contracts, while being anchored to a blockchain to generate trust-minimization
3/ Just like how data delivery extends the capabilities of smart contracts through added connectivity, oracle computation extends smart contracts with scalability, cost-efficiency, privacy, and additional features that cannot be realistically achieved on a blockchain itself
"The research-driven initiative combines @WOOnetwork’s liquidity provision strategies with @Chainlink’s robust oracle technology to create customized Chainlink oracles based on WOO’s market data"