There is a long-standing overlooked issue in Web3 infrastructure — I call it the "Lazy Oracle Economy."
The first-generation oracles (represented by Chainlink) operate with a blunt logic: they mechanically push price updates at fixed time intervals or when price fluctuations exceed a threshold. It's like subscribing to a newspaper: the mailman delivers it punctually every day regardless of whether you read it, and you pay a hefty delivery fee. In the context of blockchain, oracle nodes, regardless of transaction activity, must regularly initiate on-chain transactions to update feed data.
How serious is the problem? During periods of high Ethereum Gas fees, a single oracle update can burn dozens of dollars. To maintain price feeds for a few mainstream assets, DeFi protocols might spend tens of thousands of dollars daily — with 90% of these updates not being used in any actual transactions. This inefficient supply-side model directly erodes the profitability of DeFi protocols.
If oracles cannot address the cost issue, large-scale commercialization of DeFi will remain a pipe dream. This is a pain point, and it’s also why innovative projects like APRO are beginning to explore "Pull" models rather than "Push" — shifting the decision-making for price updates to the actual demand side of transactions. This is not just a simple technical change, but a rethinking of the entire oracle economic system.
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LightningAllInHero
· 6h ago
90% all burned? Isn't this just burning money on Chainlink? Ridiculous
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VitalikFanAccount
· 6h ago
Now I see. 90% was wasted, and DeFi's profits can't withstand such constant tinkering.
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DefiSecurityGuard
· 6h ago
wait hold on... 90% of oracle updates going unused? that's not just inefficient, that's basically a honeypot for capital bleed. DYOR on your oracle spend tbh
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FlashLoanLarry
· 7h ago
yo the 90% waste ratio is actually criminal lol... been saying this for two years now, everyone just ignores the opportunity cost sitting there. push model is basically capital inefficiency on steroids, tbh
There is a long-standing overlooked issue in Web3 infrastructure — I call it the "Lazy Oracle Economy."
The first-generation oracles (represented by Chainlink) operate with a blunt logic: they mechanically push price updates at fixed time intervals or when price fluctuations exceed a threshold. It's like subscribing to a newspaper: the mailman delivers it punctually every day regardless of whether you read it, and you pay a hefty delivery fee. In the context of blockchain, oracle nodes, regardless of transaction activity, must regularly initiate on-chain transactions to update feed data.
How serious is the problem? During periods of high Ethereum Gas fees, a single oracle update can burn dozens of dollars. To maintain price feeds for a few mainstream assets, DeFi protocols might spend tens of thousands of dollars daily — with 90% of these updates not being used in any actual transactions. This inefficient supply-side model directly erodes the profitability of DeFi protocols.
If oracles cannot address the cost issue, large-scale commercialization of DeFi will remain a pipe dream. This is a pain point, and it’s also why innovative projects like APRO are beginning to explore "Pull" models rather than "Push" — shifting the decision-making for price updates to the actual demand side of transactions. This is not just a simple technical change, but a rethinking of the entire oracle economic system.