Ethereum’s Missing Link: Oracles Provide Off-Blockchain Data for Smart Contracts
Fran Strajnar, CEO of BraveNewCoin, tells Cointelegraph about the development of oracles as Ethereum’s missing link to make smart contracts truly useful to the regular business world. Bridging the gap. Ethereum promises a host of smart contract applications from gambling to ridesharing. The technology still is, however, very much in development, and much of its current use remains either speculative or hypothetical, with few day-to-day operations of regular businesses relying on smart contracts. This is because Ethereum smart contracts only have access to information on their own....
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Oracles, according to Cryptopedia, are protocols for smart contracts in the blockchain industry to interact with external data. Smart contracts are essentially computer programs that run within a blockchain and automate a set of transactions when certain conditions are met. Thus, smart contracts contribute to the complete decentralization of the blockchain industry by allowing transactions to take place automatically and without the intervention of a third party. As appealing as the concept of blockchain as a self-contained, permissionless, and trustless system is, it would have no....
Blockchain technology supports cryptocurrencies but can also be used for supply chain tracking, identity management systems, healthcare and more. Can smart contracts exist without blockchain?Blockchain technology is necessary for smart contracts to function because it enables automated agreements to be conducted and carried out without the involvement of a third party. Similar to smart contracts, database systems can have self-executing components such as triggers and stored procedures. Still, they cannot enforce immutability because anyone with administrator rights can undo any....
The term ‘oracle’ has become quite commonly used within crypto circles across the globe in recent years, and rightly so. This is because these novel offerings are designed to connect various blockchain projects with a wide array of off-chain data, thus allowing for the advent of many novel use cases. That said, most traditional oracles are faced with two core issues. Firstly, they require a centralized entity/intermediary to facilitate their access to external, real-time data — as a result of which third parties can potentially alter the data being supplied to it. Secondly, centralized....
A new report conducted by Tecnalia Research and Chainlink Labs asserts that blockchain and oracles can help fix climate issues. New dynamics in the energy sector are compelling providers to shift to sustainable and clean energy to combat climate change. While many challenges accompany the clean energy transition, a report claims that blockchain has the potential to help the industry achieve its climate action goals. The report, titled "Managing Climate Change in the Energy Industry With Blockchains and Oracles," was conducted by Tecnalia Research and Chainlink Labs. It outlines how....
As demand for smart contracts climbs, Chainlink’s modular oracle for the Substrate framework aims to power developers and defi applications with trusted off-chain information and pricing data needed to attract projects to Polkadot and Kusama. Blistering Growth in Defi and Smart Contracts Beckon New Layer of Trust As the smart contract revolution continues to gain traction, the fissures and flaws in existing infrastructure that supports these transactional protocols are becoming more apparent. Among the chief issues facing smart contracts, costs and security are the main factors in....