Oracle Feeds
Oracle feeds are services that provide external data, such as asset prices, to smart contracts on the blockchain. Because blockchains cannot natively access data from the outside world, oracles act as a bridge, delivering verified information to decentralized applications.
This is critical for protocols like lending platforms and derivatives exchanges that need accurate, real-time price data to manage collateral and liquidations. If an oracle feed is compromised or provides inaccurate data, it can lead to catastrophic failures in the protocols that rely on it.
Decentralized oracle networks are used to aggregate data from multiple sources to minimize the risk of manipulation or single points of failure. They are a fundamental component of the infrastructure required for complex financial applications.