Swisscom to launch oracle node on Chainlink

Swisscom, the largest telecommunications and IT provider in Switzerland, is set to become an oracle node operator on Chainlink.

Swisscom’s digital asset division will lead the pilot scheme and ensure the oracle node continues to provide financial market and digital asset price data for the Chainlink network. The pilot scheme with Chainlink sees the provider expand its services in the thriving Decentralised Finance (DeFi) space, taking an “important role as a supplier” of data for the rapidly growing number of DeFi applications that use Chainlink oracles.

Swisscom said it chose to operate a Chainlink node to “remain relevant to its customers in this new world and to continue providing high-quality, state-of-the-art technology services as a trusted supplier”.

Swisscom is located in Ittigen, near Bern, and has an estimated 19,000 employees. 51% of Swisscom is owned by the Swiss government.

“We believe that making reliable off-chain data available on decentralized networks is a critical success factor for the future development of digital assets,” said Dominic Vincenz, fintech innovation manager at Swisscom’s digital business.

Last June, leading German telecommunications giant, T-Systems, also announced it would be operating a Chainlink node.

For blockchain applications and smart contracts to operate properly and provide accurate pricing and data, they require off-chain data from various sources such as financial markets or insurance providers.

Through Chainlink’s Oracle nodes, data is continuously collected from these sources and fed into the Chainlink network, where it is aggregated and verified through a decentralised consensus mechanism.

Chainlink also provides a vast array of off-chain resources, including verifiable randomness, secure price feeds, external APIs, and much more.

Through DeFi and blockchain technologies, Swisscom said it wanted to offer opportunities to customers “in a targeted manner” and that its digital asset team “sees no end in sight to the growth of decentralised financial applications”.