I've seen the most skilled traders study the market thoroughly on a certain DEX, only to be caught by bad data with a 3-second delay. He kept staring at the liquidation records and kept saying, "I've studied everything, but I just can't figure out how that life-threatening number was generated."

People in the crypto world are willing to spend money on everything—chasing speed, chasing returns, chasing new concepts. But there’s one thing very few are willing to pay for: trust. To be precise, trust in the authenticity of data.

Imagine this scenario: your collateral might be liquidated due to a price fluctuation from an unknown source that cannot be held accountable. At that moment, you realize that in the blockchain world, the most expensive cost isn’t gas fees. It’s this "unclear cost."

Now, some protocols are beginning to face this problem, trying to put a clear price on this invisible cost and find ways to reduce it.

**Where does the root of the problem lie?**

We have to admit a harsh fact: today’s DeFi ecosystem is actually built on quicksand.

Smart contracts themselves are solid and transparent rules. But what about the data foundation? It’s a chaotic mess. Most oracles do nothing more than simple data transfer—moving numbers from place A to place B. They neither guarantee nor take responsibility for whether the data is true or fresh.

This creates a vicious cycle:

You deposit collateral based on the information "Token X = $3,200." Suddenly, a fringe exchange reports an absurdly low trade price, which the oracle picks up. The contract instantly determines "Token X = $2,800," and concludes your collateral is insufficient.

Before you can react, liquidation happens.

The issue of data authenticity has shifted from a "technical detail" to a "life-and-death" matter. That’s why more and more people are starting to pay attention to the data sources and verification mechanisms of oracles.