Chainlink Staking Successfully Launched; 11.1 Million LINK Staked
Chainlink’s long-awaited update, the launch of Staking v0.1, on the Ethereum mainnet has been successful concluded a few hours ago. The feature is a key component of Chainlink Economics 2.0.
Chainlink Staking aims to create stability for the ecosystem. Participants can earn rewards by staking the native LINK token to protect the network, encouraging honest behavior.
This reward mechanism is intended to ensure that nodes have an incentive to improve oracle data integrity and efficiency for years to come.
Chainlink Staking Generates Huge Demand
As of yesterday, only a select few community members who meet at least one of the criteria on the Early Access eligibility list will be able to wager up to 7,000 LINK worth approximately $53,000 in the limited v0.1 betting pool.
Starting tomorrow, December 8th at 12:00 ET, the limited betting pool will be open to all, giving everyone the chance to bet up to an initial limit of 7,000 LINK per address.
Initially, there is a limit of 25 million LINK for the betting pool. 22.5 million LINK are allocated to community participants on a first-come, first-served basis, while 2.5 million LINK are allocated and reserved for node operator participants.
At press time, 11.1 million LINKs, equivalent to around $75 million, have already been staked, according to Etherscan data. The value is divided among more than 2,600 addresses.
More than 950 addresses deployed 7,000 LINK. And 725 addresses bet less than 1000 LINK. With the current rapid participation, the Chainlink Staking v0.1 pool limit should therefore be reached very quickly.
Staking represents a new era of crypto-economic security for the #Chain link Network.
By betting LINK tokens, you can help increase the security guarantees of oracle services and earn rewards in return.
Start betting: https://t.co/nOhbTwLWTB pic.twitter.com/SU6n4SUd6v
— Chainlink (@chainlink) December 6, 2022
For participants, it is important to know that the staked LINK and rewards will remain locked until the release of Staking v0.2, which is planned in about 9-12 months.
Originally, a lockout period of 12-24 months was planned, based on a conservative release cycle. However, after discussions with several community members and node operators, faster iterations were identified as a better solution.
LINK Price is changing
As staking reduces the supply of net LINK, it could be a potential price catalyst. Currently, the LINK price has been in a trading range for 7 months, which the price has not been able to break out of.
At press time, the price of LINK has seen a drop of up to 4% following broader market sentiment. It was trading at $6.89 and thus in the middle of the trading range.
On the downside, the $5.30 level is of great importance, while the $9.60 mark marks the upper boundary of the range. Just hitting the last level could catapult LINK back into bullish territory.
