Explain the Role of an Oracle in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Its Connection to Accurate Pricing on a DEX.
An oracle is a third-party service that connects smart contracts on a blockchain to real-world data, such as asset prices. In DeFi, oracles are crucial for providing accurate, tamper-proof price feeds to DEXs and lending protocols.
Without reliable oracle data, a DEX could suffer from price manipulation, leading to incorrect trade executions, liquidations, or exploits based on stale or inaccurate pricing information.