3. Chainlink (LINK)

To understand Chainlink, we need to know about oracles and smart contracts. Smart contracts are tiny pieces of code that execute automatically when in certain circumstances. Oracles collect the data that feeds smart contracts -- without them, the smart contract wouldn't know when it should trigger. And Chainlink is the market leader in oracles.

Many leading DeFi platforms use Chainlink's oracle data.

Even though several well-known analysts have pointed to its potential, LINK only gained about 70% in 2021. That's a solid increase but not as much as many others.