Oracles are third-party information service providers that send external real-world data to a blockchain protocol (often to a smart contract or numerous smart contracts). Oracles give blockchain network protocol's significantly more power because they are able to exponentially secure, verify, and strengthen the validity of data that a blockchain network receives and makes use of (because blockchains and smart contracts are often closed systems). Oracles can be decentralized and rely on numerous data sets, or centralized and controlled by a single entity. Currently, one of the main uses of blockchain-based oracles is to provide price and data feeds needed for the trustless execution of smart contracts used by financial mechanisms in the DeFi sector.
