{"id":535719,"date":"2026-05-18T08:31:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T07:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?post_type=crypto_guide&#038;p=535719"},"modified":"2026-06-20T00:32:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T23:32:02","slug":"what-is-chainlink","status":"publish","type":"crypto_guide","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/guides\/what-is-chainlink\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Chainlink?"},"author":1645,"featured_media":536018,"template":"","guide_category":[81324],"guide_series":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.9 (Yoast SEO v21.9.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Is Chainlink And How Does It Work? A Jargon-Free Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chainlink is the most used oracle network in crypto. Smart contracts can&#039;t check RWA prices or settle bets on their own. Chainlink solves that. 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