As decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to grow, demand for oracles – key tools that connect blockchains to real-world data – increases.
Established providers such as Chainlink face increased competition from emerging players as decentralized applications (DApps) require more efficient data delivery solutions.
Marcin Kaźmierczak, co-founder and COO of RedStone, discussed DeFi oracle trends in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph.
Kaźmierczak said the oracle market is entering a new phase driven by innovation and multi-chain adoption, highlighting the rapid changes in DeFi and the potential shake-up of oracle providers.
Evolving a multi-chain ecosystem
Kaźmierczak noted that the rise of Layer 2 networks and non-Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) chains, such as The Open Network (TON) and Starknet, have highlighted the scalability limitations of existing Oracle designs.
“When Chainlink was created, L2 or DeFi did not exist across multiple L1s, therefore the design was not optimized for multi-chain delivery.”
Kaźmierczak said each new network presents “a significant technical dependency and cost” that was not initially considered, but this demand has revealed new “challenges”.
The RedStone co-founder described these newcomer networks as “much more effective at supporting new ecosystems” and included Berachain, Unichain (Uniswap’s L2 network), and Ink (Kraken’s L2 network).
Decentralize without excessive engineering
The question of how oracles should be decentralized is a topic that continues to be discussed, with some experts, like Flare Network co-founder Hugo Philion, advocating for oracles to be integrated directly on-chain.
Kaźmierczak expressed concerns about the integration approach, which he said “at the base layer stifles innovation and locks protocols into specific designs.”
He argued that a better and more efficient path could be forged by leveraging staking technology and spreading security risks while allowing oracles to remain independent and adaptable to technological changes.
Outlook for Oracle
While acknowledging that Chainlink remains a powerful force with deep and growing industry roots, Kaźmierczak reiterated that the fast-paced nature of DeFi leaves room for challengers.
“We are not so much obsessed with being first, but with delivering value to customers and consistent growth,” he said, adding that the Oracle vendor’s total value secured (TVS) has increased “1,250% year over year, now reaching $6.3 billion.
With expectations of crypto-friendly policies under the new administration of United States President-elect Donald Trump, the RedStone co-founder told Cointelegraph that he expects a “bullish wave on DeFi platforms.”
