Oracle Pools

Oracle Pools is Ergo's native solution for bringing external data on-chain in a trust-minimized way. Unlike centralized oracle services, Ergo's Oracle Pools use on-chain aggregation and permissionless participation to create reliable data feeds for DeFi protocols, stablecoins, and other smart contract applications.

The system works by allowing multiple independent oracle operators to submit data points, which are then aggregated on-chain using the median or other statistical methods. This aggregation happens in transparent UTXOs, meaning anyone can verify how the final value was computed. Bad actors who submit manipulated data can be identified and their stakes slashed, creating strong economic incentives for honest behavior.

Oracle Pools power critical infrastructure across the Ergo ecosystem, including SigmaUSD's price feeds and various DeFi protocols. The permissionless design means new operators can join by staking collateral, increasing decentralization over time. Each oracle pool stores its data history on-chain in eUTXOs, providing a transparent, auditable record of price movements that applications can reference for time-weighted calculations or historical analysis.