Earlier this week, Chainlink announced the launch of a new platform to help connect dApps with traditional web apps seamlessly. The platform is currently available in beta on the Ethereum Sepolia and Polygon Mumbai testnets.
The new platform, called ‘Functions,’ is all set to complement Chainlink’s Oracle service. It’ll allow developers to connect their applications or smart contracts with any API from the traditional tech space without having to manage additional cloud infrastructure. The platform has already collaborated with various cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Meta, and others.
Additionally, a number of projects, including Block Scholes, ChainML, Dopex, Nusic, and Thirdweb, are already testing ‘Functions’ across different verticals ranging from AI integrations to DAO governance.
11 Things You Can Build Using Chainlink Functions
Chianlink’s Product Marketing Manager, Michael Robinson, took to Twitter to lay out how the new platform could help users build APIs. OpenAI API was the first example out of the eleven. According to Robinson, one can “create a smart contract that asks an AI for a daily investment recommendation and then makes that trade.” Likewise, he gave another example by adding Tesla to the equation. Robinson tweeted,
“Create a Tesla rental smart contract. The renter pays in stablecoins based on the miles traveled.“
Then, Robinson moved on to highlight how artists and influencers on Spotify and TikTok can take advantage of Functions. As far as the former is concerned, he specified that a smart contract that pays the artist based on the number of song plays can be created. Doing so would eliminate middlemen while fostering instant payment via stablecoins. With respect to the latter, a smart contract can be created for an advertiser to pay an influencer based on the exact number of views and likes they generate.
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The world is Chianlink’s Function’s oyster
Expanding the scope to DeFi and NFTs, Robinson gave examples involving Zillow and Pelton. With respect to the former, he said,
“Tokenize your house as a dynamic NFT. The NFT updates house details using Zillow data. Use your house NFT in DeFi.“
With respect to the latter, Robinson said that a smart contract that mints achievement NFTs based on the miles biked can be created. Likewise, users can also create NFTs that change and update while playing chess online or games like Fortnite and League of Legends.
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Moving on, the Chainlink Product Marketing Manager highlighted how users can also create a “DeFi prediction market” based on election results. For the same, he gave an example of the Associated Press Elections API. Well, using Functions, even the shipment tracking and payment box can be additionally checked. Explaining how using the FedEx track API example, Robinson said,
“Create a smart contract that transfers stablecoin payment when your package arrives on the other side.”
He concluded the thread by giving a Twilio use case. Explicitly, he tweeted:
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New era on Chainlink
At the time of launch, Kemal El Moujahid, Chainlink’s Chief Product Officer, said that ‘Functions’ will help eliminate the roadblock in the adoption of Web3. The instances elaborated above legitimize the said claim.
People from space are evidently excited about Functions. A particular community member opined,
“Chainlink Functions has opened a whole new chapter for the Chainlink platform.”
On the other hand, Usman Asim, Senior Developer Relations Engineer at Avalanche’s Ava Labs, recently tweeted,
“Chainlink functions are super cool. Being able to connect smart contracts to Web2 APIs is going to be game changing for the adoption of SCs in traditional technology. Very exciting stuff.”