AMA Transcript | Supra Oracles: How Should Oracles Innovate in the Web3.0 Era?
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AMA Transcript | Supra Oracles: How Should Oracles Innovate in the Web3.0 Era?
The function of an oracle is to write external information into the blockchain, enabling data interoperability between the blockchain and the real world.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsOn November 24, Joshua D. Tobkin, Co-Founder and CEO of Supra Oracles—an oracle project incubated in 2021 through the University of California, Berkeley’s accelerator program—joined the TechFlow community as a guest.
First, let's understand what an oracle is.
According to the report "What Blockchain Can Do and Cannot Do?" issued by the People's Bank of China, an oracle mechanism is defined as:
The mechanism that writes information from outside the blockchain onto the blockchain is generally known as an oracle (oracle mechanism).
An oracle’s function is to write external information into the blockchain, enabling data interoperability between the blockchain and the real world. It allows deterministic smart contracts to react to the uncertain external world and serves as the only pathway for smart contracts to interact with external data—acting as the interface between blockchains and the real world.
To draw an analogy, if public blockchains are like operating systems and DApps are equivalent to mobile apps, then oracles can be thought of as API interfaces.
This analogy may not be entirely accurate, but oracles do play such a role—they serve as the bridge between blockchains and the real world, enabling tools for data interoperability.
AMA Session
1. Host: We know SupraOracles has ties to UC Berkeley. Could you tell us what SupraOracles is currently working on? What about your team background and structure?
Guest: We recently participated in the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator, which just concluded this past Tuesday. After being interviewed by the Berkeley blockchain team and presenting our unique approach to blockchain data security, we were selected to join their official program.
Additionally, one of our co-founders, Jon Jones, is a graduate of Berkeley.
Our leadership team was formed in early 2018. I (Josh) met our CTO Larron in Los Angeles, and I met our other co-founder Jon at the San Francisco Blockchain Week event in early January 2018.
I (Josh) have over 10 years of experience in the SaaS industry, having worked at several startups in San Francisco focused on digital rights management and food supply chain solutions. Larron was previously a senior engineer at Sony, while Jon has been working as a blockchain consultant in Taipei since 2017.
2. Host: Why did you choose to build in the oracle space? What unmet needs do you see in this sector, and how does SupraOracles address them?
Guest: In 2018, we founded Unity Chain, a crypto research lab. There, we explored various blockchain-related topics—from Layer 1 consensus algorithms and VRFs (verifiable random functions) to IoT and practical blockchain applications. We also built solutions for projects that raised significant funds via ICOs in 2017 but couldn’t develop their own technology. This helped us survive through the crypto winter.
In 2019, we were invited by Walmart China to participate in a food safety challenge in Shenzhen. Walmart brought together 10 teams from around the world. We proposed an end-to-end cold chain logistics solution from farm to table, using smart QR codes, IoT sensors, and blockchain to track IoT data and enable digital payments. This solution allows end consumers to verify that their food was properly handled throughout the entire logistics process.
All of our experience connecting real-world data to blockchains, combined with our research into other Layer 1 consensus algorithms, allowed us to conceptualize a new method: bringing blockchain-level guarantees to any data entering the blockchain. In short, we’re applying Layer 1 security principles directly to the oracle layer.
3. Host: Incentivizing users who submit high-quality data is a core issue in oracle product optimization. How does Supra Oracles approach this? What does your economic model look like?
Guest: SupraOracles is a proof-of-stake system where nodes stake tokens to participate in oracle services. To access the data provided by our oracles, users must pay a small fee, which is distributed to our nodes.
Furthermore, in our model, nodes will have a reputation score that evolves over time. For example, an oracle node can join our network after staking, starting with an 80% reputation score.
Over time, if they consistently respond quickly and remain online frequently, they can increase their reputation up to 100%.
The higher your reputation, the more rewards you can earn. This means initially you’ll receive only 80% of potential earnings. But over time, as you continue to perform reliably and deliver quality service, you can earn 100% of the potential revenue from oracle service fees.
4. Host: Broadly speaking, oracles fall into three categories: centralized, semi-decentralized, and fully decentralized. Which type better meets actual market demands?
Guest: We are a fully decentralized oracle. We’re applying Layer 1 consensus principles directly to the oracle layer. All our nodes must actively participate. Then, we use threshold signatures and cryptographic techniques to randomly sample the network and manage multiple data feeds. This randomization process and our network architecture make our security 100x stronger than others.
We can rotate nodes more frequently, making collusion and fraud among oracle nodes extremely difficult—if not impossible.
5. Host: The entire industry is talking about Web3.0. What vision do you think Web3.0 will ultimately realize? And what role will oracles play in Web3.0 scenarios?
Guest: I believe Web3 will ultimately give us ownership of the internet and non-sovereign (i.e., non-government-controlled) digital value storage and exchange mechanisms. Beyond simply fetching cryptocurrency price data on-chain, many new oracle use cases will soon emerge.
I’m particularly excited about helping creators digitize knowledge and intellectual property to unlock new monetization models. For instance, music and smart contracts are common NFT use cases. However, unless you can actually provide performance data—such as how many times a song was played and where—it’s impossible to automate royalty payments. With the help of oracles, this becomes much more feasible.
Oracles make blockchains more useful.
6. Host: Oracle is seen by many as a crowded space, with some established players already dominating most of the market. What is Supra Oracles’ core competitive advantage?
Guest: Our goal is to be 100x more secure and 10x faster than current mainstream oracles. Additionally, we aim to make integration easier for developers.
Many blockchain projects trying multi-chain deployments are open to testing new oracles. When they decide to deploy their protocol or project on another chain, we encourage them to consider our more secure and faster solution.
We already have over 300 early partners across multiple different blockchain ecosystems. We hope to help mature and secure the oracle ecosystem, and we believe competition is vital to improving overall oracle security and performance.
7. Host: Many oracle projects, including yours, are building cross-chain oracles. What are the biggest challenges in implementation?
Guest: The hardest part of cross-chain oracles is seamless communication across multiple chains. Cross-chain communication means speaking their language—in other words, using cryptographic signature algorithms from both chains so smart contracts can verify the data provided.
Many chains use different cryptography, so enabling communication between them isn't always straightforward—that’s the toughest part of cross-chain oracles. But we have some very unique approaches to solve this problem—we can’t disclose details yet. But I can say it involves very exciting cryptography.
8. Host: Recently, market attention has centered on Metaverse and GameFi, both built around NFT assets. Yet, liquidity for NFTs in compliant markets remains poor. We understand Supra Oracles also provides data services related to NFT assets. Could you discuss the similarities and differences between oracle services for NFTs versus fungible tokens? Also, what are your thoughts on the recent hype around the Metaverse?
Guest: It’s hard to price NFTs because each asset is unique, so NFT value is often considered subjective.
When NFT valuation data is highly subjective, there are several ways oracles can help derive a generalized sense of project value.
One way is to have a few reputable individuals write reports on the minimum current value of an NFT. However, this is generally not an automated process, so oracles under this model usually require a committee of trusted individuals—which isn’t ideal.
Alternatively, if reliable metrics on NFT usage can be obtained from original sources—like the game itself—then oracles can provide that data to smart contracts.
Regarding the Metaverse, my general view is that it’s positive for blockchain. Mark Zuckerberg recently emphasized the importance of interoperability for digital items across games, ecosystems, and platforms. If this vision comes true, many gaming projects will likely need to exist on public blockchains. To facilitate cross-chain communication and interoperability, solutions like SupraOracles are well-positioned to provide the core infrastructure enabling multiple chains to communicate and coordinate.
In short, we truly believe GameFi and the Metaverse are very exciting for our industry, and we’re confident we can play a crucial role in making this vision a reality.
9. Host: Compared to spot on-chain trading, decentralized derivatives may have even stronger demand for data timeliness. What specific issues do you focus on when serving them?
Guest: What makes SupraOracles unique is that we apply Layer 1 consensus principles to any data on the blockchains we serve. Our architecture offers over 100x greater security than some competitors, with data correctness being our top priority.
Second, speed is critical. We believe we can offer refresh rates of 3–5 seconds for data such as cryptocurrency and stock prices. Of course, each chain has its limitations—for example, even if we publish data every 3–5 seconds to Ethereum, due to Proof-of-Work, Ethereum still requires about 10 seconds and multiple blocks to finalize data on-chain. Plus, frequent data publishing on Ethereum can be very costly.
Nevertheless, SupraOracles can deliver accurate data with 3–5 second refresh rates, and when our mainnet is fully operational, it will also be the most secure and reliable solution in the industry. We hope to eventually outcompete others. Data accuracy and speed are both important, and we aim to excel in both areas.
Host: Yes, because NFTs lack liquidity, pricing is difficult. More broadly, I personally believe using NFTs as collateral to obtain liquidity is a flawed idea—this is just my opinion, not necessarily correct.
Guest: That’s a tough problem to solve. We have an early partnership with NFTfi and are exploring this area. There are some interesting approaches… though I’m not fully convinced yet.
10. Host: Recently, you publicly announced your collaboration with Mastercard. What other partnerships are underway? What drives users to choose your oracle? And could you share any upcoming plans?
Guest: Yes, we are the first oracle project to join Mastercard’s Start Path program. Some discussions with them were originally confidential, but I can share a bit:
There’s strong interest in stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and many want to know how these digital fiat currencies will interact with public blockchains.
SupraOracles is a neutral data provider. But if digital fiat currencies are to interact with public blockchains and cryptocurrencies, they’ll need foreign exchange data and crypto pricing. We’re ideally positioned to serve both public and private sectors in a reliable, neutral way—providing FX and crypto pricing data to anyone who needs it.
11. Host: MakerDAO and others have been working to bring traditional assets on-chain. Oracles are a key component here. What are your thoughts on the market potential and challenges in this area?
Guest: It’s fascinating. Many assets in the world are non-income-generating, like physical gold. Suppose someone owns gold—it just sits there. But if a person can securely and with high integrity prove custody and ownership of that gold, could that gold be digitized and used as collateral in a DeFi application? If so, gold could become an income-generating asset.
However, there are many potential regulatory hurdles—that’s not our concern. Our business is to bring accurate on-chain data as fast and securely as possible.
To answer your question, it’s a very interesting topic. When we have highly secure oracles with strong data correctness guarantees and fast refresh rates, blockchains can do much more.
12. Host: Your website slogan is “We didn’t invent blockchain. But we’re making it better.” Beyond your focus on oracles, what other overlooked areas in the broader crypto industry deserve improvement?
Guest: Cross-chain bridges that enable better cross-chain communication and seamless asset swaps are something we plan to offer in the future—though we can’t reveal details yet.
The oracle space is often overlooked. We’ve gone through all the effort to achieve decentralized blockchains, yet the oracle layer remains centralized. Our goal is to mature the oracle layer and bring stronger security and decentralization to it.
Any data entering the blockchain should have the same level of security assurance as the underlying blockchain itself. That’s our mission—to bring Layer 1 security guarantees to the data feeding into the smart contracts we serve.
13. Host: Berkeley has produced many crypto innovations. How did you get accepted into their incubator? As a team with their DNA, could you share what topics the Berkeley crypto developer community is discussing most recently?
Guest: Some of our co-founders have lived in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and the Bay Area, giving us deeper insight into Berkeley’s blockchain initiatives. This allowed us to apply before their deadline. One of our co-founders, Jon Jones, also attended Berkeley about 10 years ago. During our application, we focused heavily on our proposal and interviewed a team we’ve collaborated with for years. We presented a compelling and unique technical approach to solving oracle problems, which undoubtedly increased our chances. We applied a few years ago but weren’t accepted—persistence, growth, and continuous improvement matter.
Their program covered topics like token economics design, legal structures, preparing to talk to investors, and receiving mentorship from teams that succeeded through their support. It was a great experience. Both the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator and Mastercard’s Start Path program have been invaluable for our team—we’re deeply grateful for these opportunities.
My final advice: work hard, persist, learn as much as possible, never give up—and avoid bad investor deals.
Our team was largely ignored during the crypto winter, but we kept building. Several times, investors offered millions in funding—but with terrible terms, asking for over 30% of the token supply. That would have destroyed the project.
Stay true to your values. Work hard, keep improving, and keep moving forward.
Q&A Session
A: What do you think about the argument between Suzhu and the Synthetix founder? Will the future see multiple chains coexisting, or Ethereum dominating alone?
Guest: I’m 100% certain the future will be multi-chain—the demand for Web3 is simply too large.
B: ChainLink currently leads the oracle market. Do you believe you can surpass it?
Guest: It will take time. Honestly, I believe we’ll soon become the second-largest… but we also have new technologies that ChainLink doesn’t yet have… who knows what the landscape will look like in 3–5 years… this market changes incredibly fast. We’ll keep building the best possible solution.
C: Chainlink dominates the industry today. Do you think the future will be monopolistic or competitive?
Guest: There will be multiple, just like there are multiple Layer 1s—there will also be multiple oracles. Competition drives progress.
D: Oracles constantly need to find partners, which requires strong business development skills. How strong is your business capability?
Guest: Yes, the blockchain industry is about 51% technology and 49% business skills. Over the past few months, we’ve onboarded over 300 partners. We have a very strong business development team, and joining Mastercard’s program has opened many doors for us.
E: We’d still like to know—do you have further plans? Is there a roadmap for your project?
Guest: Yes, we’ve nearly completed building our internal alpha testnet. Our goal is to launch a public release within a few months, followed by a public testnet early next year, and then mainnet shortly after final audits. We’ve spent the entire year developing our technology. We’ve kept everything under wraps—because we wanted to stay in “stealth mode.” But believe me, Berkeley and Mastercard wouldn’t have accepted us into their programs unless they found what we’re doing truly compelling.
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