Chainlink Upgrade at SmartCon 2024

Chainlink introduced a significant platform upgrade at SmartCon 2024 on Wednesday, featuring a new modular, composable architecture aimed at enhancing flexibility and user-friendliness for developers and enterprises.

The Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) upgrade, currently in early access, seeks to expand its use across multiple blockchains and address the increasing demand from financial institutions and Web3, as mentioned in a blog post by the project.

Chainlink, a decentralized oracle network, connects smart contracts on blockchains with real-world data, APIs, and payment systems. It serves as a secure bridge, enabling blockchain applications to interact with external data in a trusted manner.

> "The upgrade of the Chainlink Platform is key to expanding Chainlink to thousands of blockchains and meeting the growing demand from capital markets and Web3," the project stated.

The launch aims to scale the platform interoperably across various blockchains using standardized components and familiar programming languages, making it highly customizable without requiring developers to worry about the specific chain in use.

The upgrade also offers options tailored for capital markets, potentially involving customized data feeds, risk models, or unique financial workflows. This could make Chainlink more appealing to traditional finance sectors aiming to engage with blockchain technology.

According to the team, the CRE introduces a reusable modular setup that allows developers to select the tools they need, such as reading data from a blockchain or calling an API. Developers can combine these tools to create workflows tailored to their applications, with each tool serving as a building block that integrates into larger workflows, simplifying the development of specific custom functions without additional Chainlink code.

Chainlink Platform Upgrade Rollout

The platform will also enable developers to use its tools more independently, reducing the need for Chainlink-specific code in their main applications, thereby accelerating the building process.

Similar to Ethereum's approach, Chainlink is implementing its platform upgrade in phases to ensure uninterrupted service for existing users. This is crucial, as Chainlink secures trillions of dollars in value, supporting the critical functions of major on-chain applications.

Initially, services like the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol will transition to the upgraded platform architecture to improve scalability. The upgrade is also being integrated into new chains like Aptos and utilized by financial institutions to link existing infrastructures to blockchains.