oracle (blockchain)

/OR-uh-kul/ · noun · Development · Origin: 2017

Definitions

  1. A service that feeds external real-world data (prices, weather, sports scores, API responses) into a blockchain, since smart contracts cannot natively access off-chain information. Oracles are a critical trust dependency — if the oracle is compromised, every contract relying on it is compromised. Chainlink is the dominant decentralized oracle network.

    In plain English: A bridge that brings real-world information (like stock prices or weather) into a blockchain, because smart contracts can't look things up on the internet by themselves.

    Example: The DeFi lending protocol used a Chainlink oracle for price feeds, which saved it during the flash crash when the on-chain DEX price briefly went to zero.

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