Decentralized data warehouse Space and Time (SxT) has announced that its flagship Proof of SQL solution has been integrated into Chainlink. As a result, SxT’s zk-Verifier will run natively on Chainlink nodes. The move is a boon for blockchain projects looking to tap into offchain data and use it to deliver the results onchain. Chainlink’s node network is relied on by thousands of decentralized applications (dapps), providing tamperproof data from on- and off-chain sources.
Chainlink Embraces SxT
Proof of SQL is Space and Time’s solution for enabling data queries to be run offline. The results can then be broadcast onchain, with zero knowledge proofs used to show that the output is accurate and the data has not been tampered with. In putting the zk-Verifier component inside Chainlink’s existing nodes, SxT’s Proof of SQL will be easier to access, placing trusted data within reach of dapps throughout the cross-chain ecosystem.
“We are thrilled to make Proof of SQL available to all databases and to integrate Chainlink as the consensus layer,” said Space and Time CEO Nate Holiday. “As the world’s business increasingly moves to operate at the intersection of blockchain and AI, verifiable data and compute will become more critical than ever. We see a future where every database needs to be verified by Space and Time’s zk-proof.”
As more enterprises embrace blockchain, and the growth of IoT spawns billions of smart sensors whose actions are recorded on high-performance distributed networks, the need for reliable data processing will come into sharp focus. Crunching vast amounts of data onchain is inefficient, while doing so off-chain risks breaking the tamperproof guarantees that are one of blockchain’s hallmarks. Proof of SQL allows dapps to have their cake and to eat it: the benefits of operating within a secure onchain environment while being able to attest to the validity of data introduced from external sources.
The Convergence of AI and Blockchain
Space and Time is convinced that the future of blockchain is very much intertwined with that of AI, and not just because both industries have an unquenchable thirst for GPUs. In July, SxT released a chatbot powered by ChatGPT for database querying, making it easier for developers to query off-chain data using natural language prompts. AI’s requirement for LLMs using vast repositories of data is an ideal use case for Space and Time’s Proof of SQL. With such intensive computation required to be undertaken off-chain, solutions such as Proof of SQL are the only practical way to deliver the outputs from data analysis onchain.
“We’re excited that Space and Time is using Chainlink for secure decentralized computation in its novel Proof of SQL ZK protocol,” said Chainlink’s Sergey Nazarov. “By enabling developers to underpin application databases with cryptographic proof, Chainlink and Space and Time are powering the creation of an end-to-end decentralized tech stack that helps scale web3.”
Decentralization exists on a spectrum, and it may never be possible to create high performance dapps that do not intersect with centralized architecture in any way. Solutions such as Proof of SQL show there are pragmatic workarounds that preserve blockchain’s core value while tapping into data from real world sources.
