Chainlink overhauls its Build program, steering value to LINK

@chainlink is restructuring how its Build program operates. Rather than collecting native tokens from supported projects, Chainlink Labs will now enter direct commercial agreements paid in ETH or in liquid assets converted into $LINK. The proceeds flow into the Chainlink Reserve.

From Token Allocations to Commercial Deals

Since its launch in September 2022, the Build program has aimed to accelerate the growth of early-stage and established projects within the Chainlink ecosystem by providing enhanced access to Chainlink services and technical support. Under the original structure, projects committed a percentage of their total token supply to the Chainlink ecosystem in exchange for those benefits, including incentives to LINK stakers.

That model is now changing. Going forward, Chainlink Labs will strike direct commercial deals with participating projects, with payments denominated in ETH or converted into $LINK before entering the Reserve. The company frames the shift as building sustainable network economics, concentrating value in $LINK rather than distributing a basket of third-party tokens to stakers.

The Chainlink Reserve is a strategic onchain reserve of $LINK designed to support the long-term growth and sustainability of the Chainlink Network. It accumulates LINK tokens using offchain revenue from large enterprises adopting the Chainlink standard and from onchain service usage. The Reserve is built up via Payment Abstraction, onchain infrastructure that lets users pay for Chainlink services in their preferred asset, with payments then programmatically converted to LINK through a decentralized exchange. As of Q1 2026, the Reserve held 3.06 million LINK, with a value of roughly $27.5 million.

Staker Rewards Wind Down as Claims Deadline Approaches

The restructuring also marks the end of Chainlink Rewards in its current form. Chainlink Rewards is a community engagement program that enables Build projects to make their native tokens claimable by ecosystem participants, including eligible LINK stakers. The program distributed roughly $20 million worth of project tokens over its run across two seasons.

Season Genesis launched in collaboration with Space and Time, which made 100 million SXT tokens available to eligible LINK stakers. Season 1 followed with nine Build projects, including Dolomite, XSwap, Brickken, Folks Finance, Mind Network, Suku, Truflation, and bitsCrunch, and introduced a more advanced engagement and claiming mechanism. Season 1 is now the last under the current format. Token claims end on July 7, 2026, and any tokens not claimed by that date will be forfeited and no longer available.

The overhaul reflects a broader effort by Chainlink Labs to draw a tighter connection between network revenue and $LINK token value, moving away from indirect incentives through third-party project distributions.

Sources:
Chainlink Blog: Build Program Evolution
Chainlink Blog: Introducing Chainlink Rewards Season 1
Chainlink Blog: Introducing the Chainlink Reserve