Blockchain data provider Chainlink’s price feeds have become available on the Base testnet, the Ethereum layer 2 blockchain incubated by crypto exchange Coinbase, allowing developers to access external data so that the smart contracts that underpin decentralized finance (DeFi) can execute based upon the information retrieved.
Base will also join Chainlink’s Scale program, which covers “certain operating costs of Chainlink services.” The program was introduced in September to reduce developers’ costs ahead of the staking of its LINK token in December. Signing up Base to the program follows February’s inclusion of Netanya, Israel-based StarkWare. LINK has rallied about 25% this year.
Base started operation in February and is meant to be a low-cost, secure platform for developers to build decentralized applications (dapps), though it was initially subject to user criticism on Twitter. Chainlink is a provider of so-called oracles, which connect blockchains to external data sources.
“By reducing the operating costs of oracle nodes, Base will be able to bootstrap its ecosystem’s growth and become a more attractive environment for building secure and scalable Web3 apps,” Niki Ariyasinghe, Chainlink Labs’ global head of blockchain partnerships, said in a statement on Friday.
