Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that connects smart contracts to real-world data, such as prices, events, or APIs. It was created by Sergey Nazarov and co-founded by Steve Ellis. In September 2017, Chainlink held an ICO, raising about $32 million. The total supply of its token, LINK, is 1 billion.
LINK is the native token used to pay node operators who provide data to the network. Chainlink uses a reputation system to ensure data reliability — operators with more LINK tokens and good performance can receive higher-value contracts. If they provide false or inaccurate data, their tokens may be reduced as a penalty.
Reference: CoinMarketCap