Critics of Chainlink have once again voiced concerns about the oracle network’s perceived centralization following a subtle alteration to its multisig wallet.
Chainlink, a decentralized oracle network, has addressed recent criticisms after quietly modifying the number of signers required for its multisig wallet, a change that sparked backlash from vocal detractors. Among these critics is crypto researcher Chris Blec, who took to social media to question Chainlink’s decision to reduce the multisig wallet’s required signatures from 4-of-9 to 4-of-8 without any public announcement.
In a September 25th post on social media, Blec highlighted a discovery by a pseudonymous user, shedding light on the removal of a wallet address from the multisig wallet, a change that went unnoticed by Chainlink’s official channels.
Chainlink responded to the concerns by explaining that this adjustment was part of their periodic signer rotation process, a necessary step to ensure the continued reliability of their oracle services. The company clarified that the multisignature Gnosis Safes, which contribute to the security of Chainlink services, were updated during this rotation, with the Safes maintaining their standard threshold configuration.
Blec has long criticized Chainlink, raising concerns about the potential centralization risks associated with the network. He even suggested that the entire DeFi ecosystem could be jeopardized if Chainlink’s signers were to act maliciously. According to Blec, this centralization risk extends to various prominent DeFi projects like Aave and MakerDAO, which rely on Chainlink’s oracles for obtaining crucial price data.
Chainlink is renowned for its decentralized oracle network, enabling smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain to securely interact with real-world data and external services, bridging the gap between blockchain and the real world.
Despite the recent controversy, Chainlink’s native token, LINK, has shown strong performance in recent weeks, surging by nearly 20% over the past month.
