At 3 a.m., the market plummeted 15%.

You thought a stop-loss would save you, but the moment you opened your account, your position was already gone.
The price never actually hit your set level.

This isn’t bad luck; it’s the cost of oracle latency—and many only realize this when they get liquidated.

Most people see oracles as too simple, thinking they’re just a "quote tool." In reality, every DeFi trade, loan, and liquidation is built on this thin ice of oracles. What determines the thickness of that ice? Two things: how fast off-chain calculations can be, and how reliable on-chain verification is.

That’s why the industry is starting to rethink oracle architecture. Not all protocols need the same data solutions.

Derivative platforms require manipulation-resistant weighted average prices with extremely high real-time demands.
NFT lending platforms care about the authenticity of floor prices, not seconds-level updates.

So here’s the question: How can each protocol choose an oracle solution that fits its own risk model?

The answer is to give developers decision-making power. A truly flexible oracle should support multiple operational modes:

**Push Mode** — Prices are automatically uploaded to the chain at fixed intervals, so lending markets and liquidation mechanisms no longer worry about sudden delays. Risks are controllable, costs are predictable.

**Pull Mode** — Protocols request prices on demand, triggering on-chain verification only at critical moments. High-frequency strategies don’t have to pay for redundant data, reducing costs.

But here’s a harsh reality: there is no such thing as an "absolute correct price," only the price that suits your protocol.

Derivative protocols can customize data source weights, aggregation logic, and update frequency—completely tailored to their risk control models.
Disputed floor prices? Choose your own data aggregation method. Too volatile? Adjust the update frequency and add buffers.

During market turbulence, those few seconds of delay and tiny price differences become the dividing line between safety and liquidation.

By 2025, oracles have evolved. They are no longer just "messengers," but decision engines for DeFi protocols. If you’re still using a "close enough" solution, you might not realize—your funds are quietly walking a tightrope somewhere unseen.