Chainlink's TWAP Feeds Go Live as Polymarket Moves to Close a Manipulation Window

Chainlink TWAP feeds went live on mainnet on 31 July

Chainlink switched on its Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) feeds on mainnet at about 19:55 UTC on 31 July 2026. The oracle network released two variants: a 30-second window and a 60-second window. A TWAP averages an asset's price across a set time window rather than reading a single snapshot at one moment. The upgrade serves decentralized finance (DeFi) applications that depend on accurate on-chain prices. Testnet versions ran earlier. Developers used them to build and test integrations before the mainnet release.

Averaged pricing makes settlement harder to manipulate

Single-snapshot price feeds report one value at one instant, which a trader can push around with a sudden order near settlement. Averaging prices over a window makes that far more expensive and difficult. The averaging window smooths out brief spikes that would otherwise land in the final reading. Markets that resolve in minutes are especially exposed, because one large trade near expiry can swing the settlement price. Chainlink aims the 30-second feeds at 5-minute markets, and the 60-second feeds at 15-minute and 4-hour markets.

Developers reach the feeds through Chainlink Data Streams

The feeds are accessible through Chainlink Data Streams, so developers who already hold credentials can integrate them right away. Existing Data Streams users need no new setup to pull the feeds. Documentation, feed IDs, and software development kit (SDK) examples sit on data.chain.link and Polymarket's developer resources. Pricing starts at $150 per month for select feeds, and costs depend on which feeds a project uses. Chainlink continues soak testing through 4 August, so adjustments to the feeds remain possible before then.

Polymarket shifts crypto markets to TWAP settlement on 7 August

Polymarket, the prediction market platform, is the first major adopter. The platform plans to move its crypto up/down markets to TWAP-based settlement from 7 August 2026 at 00:00 UTC. Under the current model, each market resolves on the last price at expiry, which leaves a narrow window open to manipulation. From 7 August, those markets will settle on the average price across the window instead. The change covers 5-minute, 15-minute, and 4-hour markets.

Polymarket adds $1 million in liquidity incentives for August

Polymarket plans to launch a separate Real-Time Data Streaming (RTDS) WebSocket on 4 August. The WebSocket gives developers another route to the feeds, and the period until then serves as a final calibration window. To support the transition, Polymarket is committing $1 million in liquidity incentives across affected markets throughout August. The incentives cover eligible crypto markets for the month.

Chainlink token trades near $8 at publication

LINK, the Chainlink network token, traded at $8.39 at the time of publication, up 2.5% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 2 August 2026). The token held a market capitalisation of about $6.28 billion, ranking 21st by that measure. Trading volume reached about $156 million over the same period (CoinPaprika, 2 August 2026).

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