January 2019 Summaries

In February, Chainlink is set to participate in the ETHDenver Hackathon, taking place in Denver, a city known for its snowy slopes and craft beer. The Chainlink team will engage with attendees, identifiable by their blue shirts, and will sponsor prizes worth $5,000 while offering technical support during the event. Their goal is to enhance the utility of smart contracts by connecting them to external data through a decentralized oracle network, essential for their application in sectors like insurance and banking. Attendees can draw inspiration from the previous ETHSF Hackathon, where winners utilized Chainlink for various innovative projects. Additionally, Chainlink will host a meetup with the Celer team on February 14th, offering a chance for networking and learning prior to the hackathon.

Smart contracts have already significantly impacted technology venture funding, notably through millions of dollars raised via ERC20 token sales that have surpassed traditional early-stage internet startup investments. Despite initial limitations, smart contracts have evolved with the development of oracles, such as the Town Crier (TC), which connects blockchain systems to real-world data using a trusted execution environment (TEE) for enhanced security and confidentiality. TC, now part of Chainlink, complements the decentralized system by ensuring data integrity and confidentiality, allowing for advanced applications like secure password handling and private computations. While TEEs like Intel's SGX face security challenges, they offer a vital layer of protection, particularly when used alongside decentralization. This integration of TEEs is expected to expand the capabilities of smart contracts, enabling them to interface with legacy systems and perform complex, off-chain computations, thereby broadening the scope of blockchain applications in industries such as IoT and supply chain management.