AccuWeather Taps Chainlink to Explore Crop Insurance and More

Crop insurance in underserved countries is a big use case, said AccuWeather’s Matt Vitebsky.

AccessTimeIconDec 14, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 7:09 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global event for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Blockchain oracle services firm Chainlink has added U.S. meteorology forecasting provider AccuWeather to further bolster its suite of real-world data feeds.

Back in August of this year, Chainlink, which allows data providers to port data into the digital agreements that run on top of blockchains, announced it was incorporating weather data courtesy of Google Cloud.

  • Wormhole’s W Token Has a 999% Weekly Return; Why VanEck Is Bullish on Ethereum Layer 2s
    02:30
    Wormhole’s W Token Has a 999% Weekly Return; Why VanEck Is Bullish on Ethereum Layer 2s
  • Crypto Is 'Waking Up' to Real World Assets: Securitize CEO
    14:25
    Crypto Is 'Waking Up' to Real World Assets: Securitize CEO
  • Bringing Real World Assets on Chain Makes Them 'More Productive,' Securitize CEO Says
    00:57
    Bringing Real World Assets on Chain Makes Them 'More Productive,' Securitize CEO Says
  • BlackRock Joins Asset Tokenization Race; North Korea Hackers Stole $3B in Crypto Since 2017
    02:07
    BlackRock Joins Asset Tokenization Race; North Korea Hackers Stole $3B in Crypto Since 2017
  • Chainlink approached AccuWeather’s Matt Vitebsky, the firm’s director of flagship products, earlier this year. Vitebsky said he’s had a personal interest in blockchain technology since 2017.

    “One of the important use cases is parametric insurance, and crop insurance is definitely a big one,” Vitebsky said in an interview. “Being able to cut out that middleman in some countries that are perhaps underserved in terms of insurance. The other place we’re looking is futures markets.”

    The type of financial products that can benefit from blockchain smart contracts combined with weather data are offerings such as parametric insurance, where a payout could be triggered by events such as a flood or drought conditions.

    AccuWeather has a set fee for access to its weather data APIs, which will be paid in LINK, Chainlink’s native token, and which developers can connect with via the Ethereum blockchain network or the Polygon layer 2 network, Vitebsky explained. A layer 2 is a second network built on top of the layer 1 Ethereum blockchain.

    “We didn’t want to miss the boat on this opportunity, we want to be at the forefront of innovation in the weather space,” said Vitebsky.

    Also this year, Chainlink partnered with the Associated Press to provide U.S. elections data as well as sports and macro economic information.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Ian Allison

    Ian Allison is an award-winning senior reporter at CoinDesk. He holds ETH.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.



    Read more about