RedStone Oracles — RedStone Basics
A 5-module primer on oracles and RedStone's modular design, modes, data flow, and security—5–10 minutes total.
Oracles, in plain English
Why oracles exist
Blockchains are sealed boxes. They can't "google" prices, weather, or FX rates. An oracle is the courier that brings dependable real-world data to a smart contract—safely and on time. Without it, lending, perps, insurance, and RWAs don't work.
What "good" looks like
A good oracle is three things at once: accurate (from diverse sources), timely (fresh when it matters), and cost-efficient (low gas overhead). If any one of the three fails, DeFi's risk shoots up.
Mental model
Think of a vending machine (the contract) that only dispenses if the weight and price match. The oracle is the scale + barcode scanner. It doesn't decide policy; it just provides facts the machine can trust.
Where the risks are
Errors can come from bad sources, slow updates, or manipulation on-chain. Designs differ in how they collect, verify, deliver, and pay for data—those choices define reliability.
💡 Visual idea: "Courier" diagram—Off-chain data → Oracle → Smart contract.