توكنوميكس Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink’s LINK token underpins the decentralized oracle network, serving as both a utility and incentive mechanism. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of its token economics, including issuance, allocation, usage, incentives, locking, and unlocking mechanisms.

Issuance Mechanism

• Token Standard: LINK is primarily an ERC-677 token on Ethereum, with bridges to other networks.
• Supply: The maximum supply is 1,000,000,000 LINK. There is no ongoing inflation; all tokens were minted at genesis.

Allocation Mechanism

While Chainlink has not officially disclosed a detailed initial allocation, third-party sources and on-chain data provide the following breakdown:

Note: These figures are based on third-party research due to lack of official disclosure. Percentages may vary slightly across sources.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

• Medium of Exchange: LINK is used to pay node operators for fulfilling data requests and executing off-chain computations.
• Staking: Tokenholders can stake LINK to provide security guarantees for oracle services. Stakers earn rewards sourced from the non-circulating supply.
• Node Subsidies: Node operators may receive LINK subsidies to incentivize reliable service.
• Alerting: Stakers can submit alerts (e.g., if a price feed is stale) and receive LINK rewards for successful alerts.
• Future Incentives: Chainlink BUILD program participants commit a portion of their native token supply to reward LINK stakers.

Locking Mechanism

• Staking Lockups: In Staking v0.2, users must observe a 28-day cooldown before withdrawing staked LINK, followed by a 7-day claim window.
• Reward Vesting: Accrued staking rewards are subject to a 90-day ramp-up period (e.g., 50% claimable after 45 days, 100% after 90 days).
• Node Operator Staking: Node operators must stake LINK to participate in certain data feeds (e.g., ETH/USD), earning rewards at a base rate (e.g., 4.5%).

Unlocking Time

• Staking Withdrawals: After the 28-day cooldown, staked LINK and rewards can be withdrawn during the 7-day claim window.
• Reward Unlocking: Staking rewards become fully claimable after 90 days.
• Team/Advisor Allocations: While not officially disclosed, industry standards suggest multi-year vesting with cliffs for team/advisor allocations.

Summary Table

Additional Notes

• Staking Pool Limits: Staking v0.2 has a maximum deposit limit of 45 million LINK, with ~90.8% for community staking and ~9.2% for node operators.
• Minimum/Maximum Stake: Users can stake between 1 and 15,000 LINK per address.
• Delegation: All staked tokens are automatically delegated equally to all Chainlink nodes in the pool.

Chainlink’s tokenomics are designed to align incentives for node operators, stakers, and ecosystem participants, ensuring the security and reliability of its decentralized oracle network. The mechanisms for staking, rewards, and vesting are structured to promote long-term participation and network health.