🔧What Does it Take to Build an Oracle?
Oracles enhance blockchains by integrating off-chain data while maintaining the core properties of blockchains. Like blockchains, oracles eliminate dependence on a central third party by introducing redundancy through a distributed reporting system.
A decentralized oracle needs to address the following questions:
Sources - What are the qualitative sources for this type of data? Or, what off-chain computation we want to transmit to the blockchain?.
Aggregation - What is the optimal method for aggregating validator reports into a single value? Considerations include resistance to manipulation (robustness), performance, simplicity, and more.
Incentive management and security - How can we assess a validator's participation and reward or penalize them appropriately? In particular, how do we detect misreports and distinguish between honest mistakes and malicious attempts to manipulate the oracle?
Answering these questions requires expertise in various domains, including data science, cryptography, game theory, and the specific field from which the data originates. We do not want a cryptographer performing poor data science nor a data scientist executing inadequate cryptography.
Building an OVS on eOracle, we aim to address the previously mentioned questions. We next outline how eOracle's infrastructure and expertise translates into features for OVS builders, enabling fast and smooth bootstrap of your custom oracle.
Last updated