Sergey Nazarov is the co-founder of Chainlink, the leading decentralized oracle network that connects smart contracts to real-world data, events, and payments.
Chainlink
Nazarov co-founded Chainlink with Steve Ellis. The project launched via an ICO in September 2017, raising $32 million. Chainlink solves the “oracle problem” — the challenge of getting reliable off-chain data (prices, weather, sports scores, etc.) into on-chain smart contracts in a decentralized and tamper-proof way.
Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network became foundational infrastructure for DeFi, providing price feeds that secure billions of dollars across protocols like Aave, Compound, and Synthetix. By 2025, Chainlink had enabled over $16 trillion in transaction value and was integrated with hundreds of blockchains and thousands of projects.
CCIP and Expansion
Chainlink expanded beyond price feeds into verifiable random functions (VRF), automation (Keepers), and most significantly, the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) — a standard for secure cross-chain communication. CCIP was adopted by major financial institutions including SWIFT for cross-chain token transfer pilots.
Philosophy
Nazarov is known for his emphasis on “cryptographic truth” — the idea that tamper-proof, independently verifiable data and computation will replace trust-based systems across finance, insurance, trade, and other industries. He is a frequent keynote speaker at crypto and enterprise technology conferences.