Stake.fish, a prominent validator for proof-of-stake blockchains, announced on Tuesday that it will serve as a Chainlink “Reviewed Node Operator,” growing the oracle network.

Chainlink is decentralized oracle network that securely connects smart contracts to external data sources and various payment networks. Specifically, the platform’s infrastructure has been designed to establish secure connections with APIs in order to obtain external data for blockchain-based smart contracts.

According to its official website, Chainlink’s developers plan to help traditional institutions work with smart contracts by connecting to “enterprise-grade” oracles. In order to provide a high level of security, the Chainlink team claims to regularly consults with cybersecurity researchers and computer science academics.

Properly implemented smart contracts allow users to enter “tamper proof” digital agreements. However, the inputs and outputs of contracts must also be secured. The Chainlink platform uses special software for reliably secure this smart contract data.

Google and SWIFT are using Chainlink’s technology stack

The Stake.fish team believes oracles will play an important role in accelerating the adoption of blockchain-enabled software. Smart contract developers need dependable oracle networks that can provide secure, reliable, and highly available data. Although development teams can build their own oracle stacks, it can be quite time-consuming and may pose security risks.

Chainlink’s decentralized oracle platform has been recognized by prominent researchers at Gartner as a highly effective solution for sourcing external data for smart contracts. Giant tech firms such as Google and SWIFT are using Chainlink’s technology stack to create secure communication channels between blockchain platforms and off-chain data networks.

Stake.fish aims to leverage its prior experience working as a validator to support Chainlink’s decentralized oracle platform. The proof-of-stake validator has provided services to leading blockchain networks including EOS, Tezos, Algorand, among others.

Stake.fish plans to help grow Chainlink community

Stake.fish won Game of Stakes, the incentivized testnet for blockchain interoperability platform Cosmos in February 2018. Wangchun, the founder of Stake.fish’s validating services, also co-founded f2pool, one of the largest Bitcoin and Ether mining pools.

As a Reviewed Node Operator, Stake.fish will be listed in Chainlink’s official documentation and the Chainlink Explorer (used for tracking activity on the decentralized oracle network). On the Chainlink platform, running a node allows it to provide external data directly to smart contracts.

In addition to supporting the oracle network, the Stake.fish team intends to help grow the Chainlink community by attracting more developers and other qualified professionals.

LINK token’s price surges by over 1,000% in 2019

Chainlink’s native token LINK surged by over 1,000% this year. The dramatic rise in LINK’s price may be partially attributed to the token being recently listed on Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, a platform for professional traders.

Last month, Google Cloud developer advocate Allen Day revealed that Chainlink may be used to provide BigQuery data to Ethereum-based smart contracts. Shortly after Day explained the benefits of using the decentralized oracle network, LINK token’s price increased by more than 77 percent within an hour.