Since Ethereum’s inception, one of the most popular questions has been “does Ethereum need a native oracle solution?”
This question is usually asked in the context of whether Ethereum needs a solution like Chainlink, which provides reliable tamper-proof inputs and outputs for smart contracts on any blockchain.
The short answer to this question is no, Ethereum does not need Chainlink.
Ethereum has everything it needs to function as a decentralized platform for smart contracts. However, that doesn’t mean that Chainlink isn’t a valuable addition to the Ethereum ecosystem.
In fact, Chainlink can be seen as complimenting Ethereum’s strengths rather than filling in any gaps.
Here’s a more detailed look at why Chainlink isn’t essential for Ethereum, but why it’s still a valuable tool for developers.
Ethereum is Self-Sufficient
Ethereum is often lauded for being self-sufficient and not relying on any central authority. This is thanks to its decentralized nature, which allows it to run on thousands of nodes spread across the globe.
This decentralization also extends to its oracle solution. There are various projects working on oracle solutions for Ethereum, such as Oraclize, Town Crier, and Provable.
These solutions use different methods to provide data to smart contracts, but they all rely on the decentralized network of nodes that make up Ethereum. .
There is no single point of failure that could take down the entire system, and no central authority that could manipulate the data. This makes Ethereum a very robust platform, and one that doesn’t need any centralized solutions like Chainlink.
Smart Contracts on Ethereum are Secure
Another reason why Ethereum doesn’t need Chainlink is that smart contracts on the platform are already very secure. This is thanks to the way that Ethereum works.
Smart contracts on Ethereum are stored on the blockchain, which means they are immutable and can’t be changed or deleted. This makes them incredibly secure, as there is no way for anyone to tamper with them.
In addition, all transactions on the Ethereum blockchain are verified by miners using proof-of-work (PoW). This means that every transaction has to be verified by multiple miners before it can be added to the blockchain.
This makes it very difficult for anyone to try and manipulate the data in a smart contract.
The combination of immutability and PoW makes smart contracts on Ethereum some of the most secure in the world. As such, there is no need for an additional security layer provided by Chainlink.
However… There are still some situations where Chainlink could be a valuable addition to an Ethereum-based project. While smart contracts on their own are very secure, they can only do what they are programmed to do.
If there is an error in the code, then the contract will execute it without problem.
For example, let’s say you have a smart contract that is programmed to send 1 ETH to address A when someone sends 10 ETH to address B. However, due to a mistake in the code, the contract actually sends 1 ETH to address B when someone sends 10 ETH to address A.
In this case, there is nothing stopping someone from exploit this “bug” and sending 10 ETH to address A over and over again until they have all of the ETH in address B.
This type of bug can be fixed by changing the code of the smart contract. However, if the contract is immutable (as most on Ethereum are), then it can’t be changed and the bug will remain forever.
This is where Chainlink comes in handy.
Chainlink Can Help Fix Bugs in Smart Contracts
As mentioned before,Chainlink provides tamper-proof inputs and outputs for smart contracts on any blockchain . So , if there is a bug in a smart contract ,Chainlink can help fix it .
For example , if our previous example had been written using Chainlink , then when someone triedto send 10 ETHto address A ,Chainlink would have detectedthe error and stoppedthe transaction from going through . In this way ,Chainlink acts asa safety netfor smart contracts .
WhileChainlinkisn’tem essentialforEthereum ,it canstillbevaluablefor developers workingonEthereum -based projects . In particular ,Chainlinkserves as agood wayto fixbugs insmartcontracts andprovideadditionals ecurityto them .