LinkPool FAQ

Welcome! This post will cover questions frequently asked by our community.

Feel free to ask any questions related to LinkPool and we will do our best to answer. We recommend that you read our own Mat Beale’s article Staking With Chainlink as a primer to this FAQ. Please join us in our Official Telegram for general support and discussion!

What is LinkPool ?

LinkPool is a Chainlink service provider with the ultimate goal of lowering the barrier to entry to becoming part of the Chainlink node network. Our aim is to allow people to earn passive income via effortless, trustless staking, reduce the amount of technical knowledge and experience required for running a Chainlink node, and to connect smart contract creators and node operators with the resources they need. We achieve this by offering our easy to use and intuitive staking dApp, our ready-built out of the box Chainlink Node as a Service, and the first of its kind Chainlink Market. We've also developed powerful, trustless contracts that can fairly distribute any form of revenue between a set of wallets.

Are you officially associated with Chainlink?

No. We are a completely separate entity from SmartContract and Chainlink. We independently provide software and services to support the Chainlink network.

Why would I want to stake my LINK tokens in a pool?

Our pools will consist of professionally constructed nodes which have an emphasis on security, resilience and redundancy. They will provide access to closed and expensive data sources and will aim to have a high reputation within the network. This will increase the usage of our nodes in the network, resulting in more LINK tokens earned.

Are my funds safe?

The security of our platform is hugely important. We will ensure the network is secure by pen-testing and auditing our infrastructure and contracts. All tokens staked on LinkPool are stored within an Ethereum smart contract so they can only be withdrawn by the owner. We are also exploring insurance options for additional coverage and assurances.

Will there be any kind of audit to confirm the safety of using LinkPool?

Audits have been performed, including an audit by Audits.dev, Thomas Hodges’ Smart Contract auditing project. Additional audits will be announced as time goes on.

Why does a Chainlink node need LINK tokens?

The Chainlink network requires LINK tokens to act as collateral while the node job is active in order to incentivize honest performance. The more LINK a node has the more concurrent and higher value jobs it can undertake.

How does it work?

Our Owner's Contract is the brains behind the whole solution. It will transfer any tokens you stake to the nodes; manage and calculate your share of the passive payments and process any withdrawal requests among many other things.

How does LinkPool generate revenue?

We will take a 25% cut of all the rewards earned by any of our staking pools. The remainder is then distributed proportionally among stakers. Read more about the economics of LinkPool here.

Can't I just set up my own node?

If you can, you should! Once you've spun up your node, you can list it in our Market.

What about penalty payments, will LinkPool cover those in case of server downtime?

It is an obvious concern how penalty payments will be dealt with when pooling. We expect the majority of the penalties within the network will be a result of API issues, or unresponsive nodes instead of false data. The way our node infrastructure is being developed for redundancy and reliability, any penalty payments due to node downtime or unresponsiveness should be non-existent, we are confident enough in this respect that all penalty payments will be paid from our own pocket and would never be the stakers responsibility to pay when using our staking pool.

What is a LinkPool Token?

First, a bit of background: LinkPool concluded their crowdsale and raised¬700 ETH allowing the team to dedicate the necessary time to build LinkPool into a simple and easy to use platform for Chainlink nodes. There are a total of 4,000 LinkPool Tokens, and 1000 Tokens were distributed proportionally to the crowdsale participators, at an approximate rate of 1.4 LinkPool Tokens per ETH. The team controls the remaining tickets, which will provide the revenue to fund operations.

Those 1,000 LinkPool tokens sold in the crowdsale represent 25% of the Owner's Contract, as mentioned above, the other 75% belongs to LinkPool. All LinkPool Token holders receive passive income from LinkPool's revenue, paid in LINK, directly to the associated wallet proportionate to their LinkPool Token holdings.

Do I need to own a LinkPool Token in order to stake?

There is no need to buy a LinkPool token in order to stake. Staking will be open to the general public in the future. We aim to scale over time and our goal is to provide everyone the option to stake. However, it will be a length of time before our staking pool is fully open given our current understanding of how much LINK is owned by LinkPool Token Holders. Until that time, LinkPool Token Holders will be given priority access to our Pooled Staking service.

How many LINK can I stake on the Pooled Staking Service?

This detailed article explains both upgrades to the LinkPool Owner’s Contract, and our estimates for per person staking pool limits once staking is live.

The limits will be roughly as follows:

On go-live: 200,000–800,000 total LINK staked on our node (200–800 LINK per LinkPool Token)

From 6–12 months: 10 million+ LINK staked on our node (Over 10k LINK per LinkPool Token)

I missed the crowdsale. Can I still buy a LinkPool Token?

Our DEX (decentralized exchange) enables trustless transfer of LinkPool Tokens between individuals. You will be required to connect using MetaMask.

How does the DEX work?

When you raise a sell order on the DEX, the LinkPool Tokens are sent to the DEX contract. When that order is filled, then the DEX contract sends the LinkPool to the buyer, and the ETH is sent with the order to the seller.

Where can I view my LinkPool Tokens?

You are able to see them once you connect to our dApp and have purchased some LinkPool Tokens. Your Token balance and cumulative LINK rewards are viewable under the ownership tab.

When can we start staking?

Once the Penalty & Deposit Contracts have been completed by the Chainlink Team, we will gradually open staking to LinkPool Token holders. The Chainlink team doesn't give timelines/estimates for development targets. The Pivotal Tracker is provided to track development progress. (Guide to understanding Pivotal Tracker)

What is Node as a Service (NaaS)?

This service is a more hands-on approach for node operation, but without the need for technical understanding of how to build and manage the node’s infrastructure. For a flat monthly fee we provide you a brand new node, then it’s up to you how you manage your identity on the network and the data you provide. More information can be found in our medium post here.

Do I need to go under KYC verification to use NaaS? What is the minimum LINK required to use LinkPool's NaaS?

No KYC will be required, and there will be no minimum LINK requirement.

I am a U.S citizen, can I buy/own the LinkPool Token?

Linkpool does not allow US citizens to hold the LinkPool Token.

We have put several barriers in place to prevent US citizens from holding the LinkPool Token. The crowdsale was not available to US citizens and you must confirm on the DEX that you are not a US citizen.

I am a U.S citizen, can I stake my LINK in your staking pool ?

Yes. LinkPool places no geographical restrictions on who can use our services. The only geographical restrictions are on US citizens holding the LinkPool Token. US citizens will be permitted to use LinkPool’s pooled staking and NaaS services.

What is the Chainlink Market?

The Chainlink market is a custom built, specifically designed service for finding Chainlink nodes, adapters, jobs and API data sources. Our marketplace allows anyone to find nodes, adapters, data sources and jobs across the Chainlink network. Giving the power to the community to list their own resources, rather than relying on centralised review & approve static pages for finding what you need.

As a Node Operator:

List your own Chainlink nodes
Add your own adapters
Add supported data sources via your own adapters
Add Chainlink jobs to your nodes

As a Chainlink user:

Search for any node
Search for any adapter
Search for nodes that support any adapters
Search for adapters that support a given data source
Search for Chainlink jobs added to nodes that support any adapter

How do I create an account?

Navigate to Market.link, click on sign in - you'll arrive at a log in page where you'll see an option to "Create an account".

How do I add my Node?

To add a node onto the marketplace, you just need an account and a deployed Chainlink node with its oracle contract. There’s no requirement for submitting any identity (KYC) into the platform. Although for a node to be searchable on the service it has to complete a quick on-chain validation process that is made simple within the website.

What is a Team account?

A Team is a group of users who act under the same business identity or common group and manage a single node. All users in a Team can manage this node and adapters within the Team. Any node or adapters are assigned to a Team will display the ownership details of the Team, and not the user who created it. The user who creates a Team gains administrative permissions over it. You can create your team upon registration or afterwards (Profile -> Team)

What is the Managed By Service?

Managed By allows a Team to add, configure and manage multiple nodes. It is intended for groups of people who operate nodes as a service on behalf of individuals or companies.

How can I have my node associated with my website?

To list your website alongside your node you must first create a Team and assign your node to it. You can add your website within your team (Profile -> Teams -> Create a Team)

What is Keybase, and why should I verify my node with it?

We've planned to offer Keybase integration within the Chainlink Market since day 1, and its now live. Keybase is a form of identification, leveraging social media accounts, that allows smart contract creators to see that a node's operators are who they say they are.

Are there any fees for using the Marketplace?

Yes, all fees for the Market will be paid in LINK and are distributed to our Owner's Contract. Initially, fees will be a fixed amount of LINK, which we may change periodically to maintain an approximate fiat value. For example, the verification process currently entails a fee of 15 LINK (16 in total, 1 is returned once the verification is completed, in order to verify that your node can both send and receive LINK).

How do I pay the Marketplace fees?

We have integrated MetaMask into the marketplace - meaning you can connect your ETH wallet to deposit the LINK for the fees.

Can I set up additional security to my Chainlink market account?

We offer non-obligatory but recommended 2FA authentication!

Please contact us with any additional questions!

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ETH price, 16 January 2020, $164 (-1.2%)