The Oracle Evolution: Trust, Blockchain, and AI

Introduction: Trust's Blind Spots

Blockchain is a revolution of trust, but its trust is closed. It trusts mathematics but not the world. Early blockchains were like logicians: they believed in reasoning but rejected perception. Bitcoin trusts hashes, not people; Ethereum trusts code, not input. Thus, when a contract wanted to ask, "What is the price of ETH?", it fell silent. This isn't a technical defect but a philosophical boundary. The certainty of blockchain comes from its separation from the external world. The source of trust is isolation. But without connection, there is no meaning. The history of humanity building trust systems is a process of constantly letting the 'system' see 'reality' again. Oracles are the first hand reaching out from this crack. They are both connection and pollution; both breakthrough and the starting point of crisis.

Phase One: The Crack in the Cave (2015–2018)

Background: Isolated Islands of Intelligence

In 2015, Ethereum brought "code is law" to the world. But law needs evidence, and there are no "external facts" on the blockchain. A "weather-based compensation" contract can't know if it's raining today; a "stock price tracking" synthetic asset can't see Nasdaq. Smart contracts became prisoners in Plato's cave, only able to gaze at on-chain shadows. The purity of the blockchain also became its constraint.

The Problem: How to "See" Without Being Polluted?

How can a blockchain see the external world without being polluted by it? Trusting external data means introducing subjectivity and centralization, and the purpose of blockchain is to eliminate both. Thus, "trusted input" became the first paradox of decentralized trust systems.

Technological Evolution

• Oraclize (Provable): Proves that data indeed comes from a specific source through TLSNotary.
• Town Crier (Cornell): Uses Intel SGX Trusted Execution Environment for secure data reading.
• Chainlink (2017): Proposed a decentralized oracle network, where nodes stake LINK, aggregate data, and form a weighted consensus.

The First Breath of Trust

Blockchain made trust logical; Oracles made trust tangible. Machines learned to "believe" for the first time, and humans began defining truth with algorithms.

Phase Two: The Market of Truth (2019–2021)

Background: DeFi's Trust Famine

The explosion of DeFi made feeding prices the lifeblood of the system. Liquidation, derivatives, stablecoins, and synthetic assets all rely on external prices. But one price manipulation can trigger a chain reaction. Truth became an arbitrageable resource.

Technological Evolution

• Tellor (TRB): Uses staking and challenge mechanisms to generate truth in a game.
• UMA (Optimistic Oracle): Assumes trust by default until challenged.
• Kleros (PNK): A decentralized jury to adjudicate factual disputes.
• Band Protocol / DIA: Introduced an API layer solution, balancing speed and reliability.

The Game Era of Trust

Tellor makes truth a game equilibrium, UMA makes truth the default state, and Kleros makes truth a social contract. Trust is no longer a list but the result of a game. Truth was "marketized" for the first time.

Phase Three: The War of Time (2021–2023)

Background: The Latency Crisis of Truth

In the era of high-frequency trading and liquidation, latency is risk. When truth is slower than lies, the system will punish truth.

Technological Evolution

• Pyth Network (PYTH): Exchanges sign price quotes directly; the source is the node.
• RedStone (RED): Pulls price feeds on demand; validation happens at execution.
• API3: First-party oracles; the data source signs and publishes itself.
• Band Protocol: Implemented a cross-chain data layer on Cosmos.

When Time Becomes the Shape of Truth

Trust shifts from "correct" to "timely." Oracles become "arbiters of time." Latency becomes a new dimension of trust.

Phase Four: OEV Awakening (2023–2024)

OEV (Oracle Extractable Value) - The arbitrage difference between truth and time. The moment of a price update is not just an information event but also a value event. The order of truth dissemination begins to determine the distribution of wealth. The question is no longer "is it true or not" but "who benefits from the truth."

Technological and Mechanical Evolution

• Chainlink OEV Network (2024): Creates an OEV auction market, allowing bidding on priority update rights.
• Pyth / SEDA: Inhibits internal arbitrage through timestamp signing and random committees.
• RedStone Pull Mode: Naturally eliminates time differences and leaves no arbitrage window.

Truth Begins to be Priced

OEV gives trust economic weight. In the past, we discussed "who is telling the truth"; now we must discuss "who benefits from the truth." Trust extends from fact verification to value governance.

Phase Five: The Collision of Intelligence and Privacy (2023–2025)

Background: AI Enters the Trust System

AI models can judge markets and analyze news, but their "authenticity" cannot be verified. When machines begin to judge truth, how do we judge machines?

Technological Evolution

• Oraichain (ORAI): Verifiable AI inference (Proof of Execution).
• Phala / iExec: Produces remote attestation using TEE trusted hardware.
• SEDA / Supra / Entangle: Integrates AI validation and cross-chain synchronization.

Rational Verification

When we ask machines to prove their rationality, Oracle transforms from "verifying the world" to "verifying intelligence." Trust extends to the level of judgment.

Phase Six: Rebuilding Trust in the Agent Era (2025 →)

Background: The Rise of AI Agents

AI agents have the ability to engage in economic behavior. They sign contracts, negotiate collaborations, and execute transactions. But algorithms have no morals, only inputs. When intelligent entities trade with each other, who guarantees that they see the same world?

Technological Evolution

• Sora Oracle (SORA): AI Oracle + payment protocol + prediction market, forming a cognitive self-correction system.
• Flux / OptionRoom: Embed prediction markets for fact verification.
• Orochi Network: Builds a machine identity system, making judgments traceable.

Re-creation of Trust

When intelligent entities become social entities, humans transition from "trust bearers" to "trust designers." Trust between machines is not emotion but agreement. Oracle transforms from a data interface into a civilizational structure.

Epilogue: From Data Bridge to Intelligent Trust Layer

Over ten years of evolution, each upgrade of Oracle has come from a trust crisis and opened new horizons. Blockchain makes trust computable; Oracle makes reality computable; AI Oracle makes intelligence computable. Oracle is no longer just a bridge but a trust layer for an intelligent civilization.

Final Note: If blockchain is the memory layer of civilization, Oracle is the sensory layer of civilization. We are teaching machines something unprecedented: how to perceive honestly. When the intelligent society truly arrives, Oracle will not only transmit data but also transmit the form of truth.