Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov believes the newly launched Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) could revolutionize the blockchain space in a way similar to how the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) once did.
In a YouTube video released Monday by Chainlink, Nazarov said the CRE “can have the same impact that the EVM had on the blockchain industry.” The EVM, introduced by Ethereum, brought Turing-complete smart contracts to the space—drastically cutting development time from months to weeks by enabling features like loops and state-based operations, which Bitcoin Script lacked.
According to Nazarov, the current smart contract ecosystem has evolved into a complex mesh of interconnected on-chain and off-chain systems. CRE, he explained, introduces a layer of abstraction that simplifies this complexity for developers.
“From our own experience building on CRE, the development timeline shrinks from months to just weeks or even days,” Nazarov noted.
What is the CRE?
Chainlink unveiled the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) in late October 2024, positioning it as a tool that allows developers to deploy code directly on the Chainlink Platform without needing to embed Chainlink-specific logic into their onchain contracts. As reported by Cointelegraph at the time, CRE also acts as a bridge between traditional financial systems—such as payment networks and legacy institutions—and blockchain protocols and smart contracts.
In essence, CRE operates like an operating system for the Chainlink network. It runs “workflows” composed of Chainlink services, integrating components like price feeds, cross-chain messaging, external APIs, zero-knowledge proofs, and compliance verifications.
How to build on CRE
Developers working with Chainlink’s Runtime Environment (CRE) are expected to use familiar programming languages like JavaScript, TypeScript, or Go. All tasks—whether reading from the blockchain, retrieving data from APIs, reaching consensus, or writing onchain—are executed by Chainlink’s decentralized oracle networks (DONs).
CRE serves as the coordinator for these DONs, orchestrating their activities to achieve cryptographic consensus and return results to smart contracts, regardless of the blockchain they operate on.
Built with a cross-chain architecture, CRE supports native features like confidential computing and zero-knowledge proofs, enabling secure, scalable, and chain-agnostic operations.
These developments come in the wake of a mid-June milestone in which Chainlink, JPMorgan’s Kinexys, and Ondo Finance successfully completed a cross-chain delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement. The transaction bridged a permissioned payment network and a public testnet, leveraging the CRE.
Earlier this month, Nelli Zaltsman, head of blockchain payments innovation at JPMorgan’s Kinexys, emphasized the bank’s ongoing efforts to integrate institutional-grade payments infrastructure with emerging onchain assets, speaking alongside Nazarov at a joint event.
