// definition
Price oracle
Price input supplied to an application
Short definition
A mechanism that supplies an application, such as a smart contract, with an external price. Its output depends on the sources, aggregation rules and update schedule. Lending systems may use it to assess collateral coverage. The reported value can differ from the price a large sale would obtain.
risk atlas
Knowledge map
Intuition
A contract’s pricing input and an executable sale price describe different things.
Related analyses
Primary sources
- Duley et al., BIS Bulletin 76: the oracle problemExternal data inputs, price sources and reliance on their integrity.