Associated Press to make datasets available on Chainlink
Move will allow AP to securely connect blockchain environments with external data
US news agency Associated Press (AP) is to make its economic, sports and election datasets available on blockchain via Chainlink – a decentralised blockchain oracle network.
The move will allow smart contracts on any blockchain to securely interact with AP’s real-world data.
Chainlink will securely connect blockchain with external data, allowing AP data to be supplied and sold directly to applications running across various blockchains. All AP data will be signed by the news agency to ensure it is verified.
AP says its data can be used to “automate key processes that happen on-chain, including informing markets of election race calls, triggering an on-chain trade when a company’s quarterly financials are released, or augmenting the appearance of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on real-world events.”
DeFi and NFTs ‘growing in popularity’
AP has made the move as it believes smart contracts, especially decentralised finance (DeFi) and NFTs, are “growing in popularity”.
The initiative is a continuation of AP’s foray into the blockchain-based markets. In 2020, AP collaborated with Everipedia, a blockchain-based online encyclopaedia, to publish US race calls on the Ethereum blockchain.
The news agency also sold the first media NFT in early 2021 as well as delivering data to inform digital generative artworks.
Reliable open-source software
William Herkelrath, managing director at Chainlink Labs said: “AP has established itself as one of the most trusted independent news organisations in the world for real-time news in all formats.
“Given its large and continually growing repository of facts and data, combined with Chainlink’s proven oracle infrastructure for providing reliable data feeds across leading blockchain networks, it makes sense for the AP to launch a Chainlink oracle node and support innovation within emerging smart contract industries.”
Dwayne Desaulniers, director of blockchain and data licensing at AP, said: “Chainlink technology is the ideal way to provide smart contract developers anywhere in the world with direct, on-demand access to AP’s trusted economic, sports, and race-call data.
“Working with Chainlink allows this information to be compatible with any blockchain. The open-source software is reliable, secure, and widely used across leading blockchain networks.”
