The Link token
From Chainlink Community Wiki
Quick take - Link token
Timeline
- 16 Sep 17: Chainlink token created. At TX 0x5488510df045770efbff57f25d0c6d2c1404d58c1199b21eb8dc5072b22d91d7
- 20 Jul 17. Steve Ellis (Co founder of Chainlink) proposes the addition of a new function (#677) to the ERC20 (Ethereum Request for Comments) token contracts. Read the full ERC677 standard proposal HERE.
Utility
The LINK token is used to pay Chainlink node operators for their oracle services (on-chain data aggregation and submission & off-chain computation services). In addition, once Chainlink staking goes live, Chainlink node operators will be able to deposit a specific amount of LINK as collateral in order to be elegible to service specific requests. This was first outlined in the original whitepaper.
ICO and token allocation
At launch, 35% of LINK tokens were sold, establishing an initial
circulating supply of 350M.
Another 30% (300M LINK tokens) were allocated to LINK's parent company
(SmartContract.com) tokens were spent on hiring, operations and
development.)
The last 35% (350M tokens) are held in reserve to
pay incentive rewards to network participants like
node operators.
ERC677
ERC stands for Ethereum Request for Comments. Ethereum Request for Comments is an official protocol for implementing improvements to the Ethereum network. ERC standards are created by the Ethereum community developers. The developers make a document describing methods and rules that they think would improve the Ethereum ecosystem. If the core developers and community agree with the proposal, it becomes a standard.
ERC20 Tokens The ERC-20 is a Token Standard that implements an API for tokens within Smart Contracts.
It provides functionalities like, to transfer tokens from one account to another, to get the current token balance of an account and also the total supply of the token available on the network.
ERC677 ERC677 is short for ERC: transferAndCall Token Standard #677. Steve Ellis (co founder of Chainlink) opened the ERC677 issue on Jul 20, 2017. ERC677 tokens inherit functionality from the ERC20 token standard, however ERC677 also allows token transfers to contain a data payload. Essentially it is an ERC20 token with the additional TransferAndCall functionality.
ERC677 tokens can be stored in any ERC20 compatible wallet. The official ERC677 standard proposal can be found HERE.
LINK Token Contract Addresses - Chain specific
Chainlink token address https://etherscan.io/token/0x514910771af9ca656af840dff83e8264ecf986ca
Chainlink contract creation
https://etherscan.io/txs?a=0x514910771af9ca656af840dff83e8264ecf986ca&f=5
Contract creation TX# 0x5488510df045770efbff57f25d0c6d2c1404d58c1199b21eb8dc5072b22d91d7
Etherscan token page: https://etherscan.io/token/0x514910771af9ca656af840dff83e8264ecf986ca
Date created: Sep-16-2017 [1]
Max Total Supply: 1,000,000,000 LINK [2]