# A brief intro to Goracle By [Prcrypto](https://paragraph.com/@prcrypto) · 2023-01-31 --- The idea of smart contracts was first conceived by Nick Szabo many years ago, Bitcoin enabled a limited version of smart contract, it was Ethereum that made it possible at a large scale. When Three Arrows was falling apart, despite owing many lenders money,they prioritize paying back a defi loan they took, with smart contracts, contracts are entered,enacted and enforced by code. Goodbye to the inefficiencies of human contracts and human institutions. Their limitations ----------------- Smart contracts have application beyond DeFi, we can apply them to anywhere a contract is needed. They find application in sports, education, real estate, entertainment and other spheres of life but they are limited. > Like some people say, the computer is a complex machine that is limited to the inputs it receives(**GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out**). Smart contracts are not smart, we say they are smart because they can enforce certain stipulated actions if certain conditions of the contract are not met but we say that they are limited by the data they are fed with. Oracles ------- Smart contracts are only enforceable when deployed to a blockchain, Blockchains are closed environment, how do we integrate these contracts with real time real world data. > Without data,a smart contract is limited in what it can do. Supposing Alice programmed a smart contract that pays out $5 to Bob whenever the temperature of a place is 30 degrees or above and deducts $2 from whenever the temperature is below 30 degrees. The smart contract will execute those conditions as stated but the issue now is what data source is the smart contract relying on. Why must they be secure? ------------------------ Smart contracts can be likened to a blind man who has authority to execute certain conditions,they will rely on whatever they are told, this risks means that only trustworthy data be given to the blind man. The legality of smart contracts is still be discussed in certain quarters and jurisdiction, the question now is who is responsible in the event where a smart contract goes wrong. When smart contracts are fed with wrong data, they will execute as well but the consequences will be terrific. The need to get accurate data to smart contracts is more than indispensable, in fact Accurate and provable data is the lifeblood of smart contracts, they live or die upon it. Enter Goracle ------------- Goracle is a **decentralized oracle** network that provides institutional grade data to smart contracts,dapps and other blockchains. Goracle is **flexible**,it supports custom get requests(endpoints),one can define how data will be agggregated and other conditions when requesting data. It supports data like NFT data, feeds, price data, sports data,flight data,traditional finance data, weather data,blockchain data and lots more. It is **cheap and affordable** to use. How does Goracle consensus work ------------------------------- Goracle is changing the oracle game, like with Algorand,Ethereum and other proof of stake blockchains that require validators to stake tokens to process transactions and validate blocks, Goracle allow various data providers to provide institutional grade data for dapps using the Goracle Oracle in their apps. When a dapp or any app request for data, each node runner(validator) will check using a verifiable random function whether their node was selected among the random nodes that will process such request, these group of random nodes(committee) . every member of this committee will fetch the data requested for that round and turn it into a block, one node among those random node will be selected as the proposer(Proposers propose the next block to be voted on, he commits a block while other members votes on the block). The proposed block and the voting result will be set to the Algorand blockchain for certification, here it will verify the vote for any wrongs like double voting,over voting etc, once the data is verified and certified true after a super majority votes true,it will be sent to the destiantion(requester). How to be data provider ----------------------- While Goracle is permissionless as anyone can stake the required amount of tokens $GORA and be a data provider, not everyone can be a data provider. Data providers are voted in by the community ,also the community can vote out any data provider who is not meeting to the standards of the network. Goracle seeks to provide its consumers “quality data” and at such only those who can provide institutional grade data are allowed in the network. Tokenomics ---------- The token is the lifeblood of the Goracle ecosystem. Goracle is a data aggregation and supply network, it connects data providers with data consumers. Fees : Consumers request data for their apps,they can pay per call or do the subscription route. The fees go to stakers on the network. Staking : To ensure that data providers have a skin in the game,they are required to stake $GORA tokens before they can join the network. Incentives : When data providers successful processes a data request,they will receive $GORA tokens as incentives. Governance : Anyone can submit governance proposals and anyone holding $GORA can vote on them. The project is currently running an [incentivized testnet](https://blog.goracle.io/goracle-incentivized-testnet-overview-3c2b473a8c92?source=user_profile---------3----------------------------) which you can join and earn some tokens Backers ------- Several top VCs like Borderless Capital, Algorand Foundation etc are supporting the project. Learn more ---------- [**Website**](https://www.goracle.io/)\*\* | [**Twitter**](https://twitter.com/GoracleNetwork) | [**Incentivized Testnet**](https://blog.goracle.io/goracle-incentivized-testnet-overview-3c2b473a8c92?source=user_profile---------3----------------------------) | \*\*[**Discord**](https://discord.com/invite/Pe8rwyPvKp) This article was originally published in my [medium](https://medium.com/@prospercrypto/a-brief-intro-to-goracle-f3b946bd8de8) blog --- *Originally published on [Prcrypto](https://paragraph.com/@prcrypto/a-brief-intro-to-goracle)*