Chainlink vs Steem

Chainlink is best known as a decentralized oracle network whose core products (Data Feeds, Automation, Functions, VRF) are consumed on-chain by smart contracts rather than through a conventional web API, which is why this entry sat un-enriched for a long time. Data Streams is the one Chainlink product with a genuine off-chain HTTP surface: a low-latency REST endpoint (plus a companion WebSocket feed) that serves cryptographically-verifiable market-data reports, authenticated with an HMAC-signed API key rather than a bearer token. The mainnet endpoint bills per-report or via a subscription, payable in LINK or other supported assets; the same interface is free to call against a public testnet host for development and testing.

Steem's public JSON-RPC API lets any client read blocks, accounts, and the blogging/social content the chain stores, using the same condenser_api methods the steemit.com frontend calls. The endpoint is HTTPS-only now — the old plain-HTTP address no longer connects — and needs no signup or key for read access. Every route tested returned CORS headers open to browser-based callers.