Introducing Pragma v.2

Today marks a major milestone for Pragma with the release of version 2 of our protocol on private testnet, ahead of the mainnet launch scheduled for year-end. At Pragma, our mission has always been to provide developers with the highest quality data, beginning with financial data. This release is a major step in that direction, with more to come.

Introduction

The original promise of crypto is to provide open, permissionless systems, available for anyone to build on. It is such a powerful principle, because builders can freely leverage and compose with existing pieces of software and data, without having to re-engineer everything from scratch, further accelerating the creation of value.

No one has ever taken that approach to oracle, it changes now. Our mission is to establish the open infrastructure for oracles, cutting out intermediaries and improving the efficiency of a market that previously suffered from the monopoly of a few actors. Allowing the true permissionless innovation, unlocking potential for numerous applications that were previously constrained.

Breaking Down the Data Market

Before delving into Pragma's infrastructure, it's crucial to understand the current data market dynamics, particularly the three main inefficiencies that hinder participant transactions:

• Cost of triangulation: The expense of bargaining and finding the right data;
• Cost of transfer: The expense associated with paying for and acquiring the data;
• Cost of trust: The counterparty risks, challenges in enforcing transactions, and the quality of the data

Current oracle providers don't facilitate the first two costs; on the contrary, they control them, taking an unfair advantage over protocols. This control not only restrains innovation but also increases costs for end-users and developers, limits the types of data that can be efficiently accessed on-chain, and ultimately creates a single points of failure, the cost of trust.

For instance, protocols seeking access to specific data through major providers face several challenges:

• Major providers typically offer a limited set of data feeds, restricting access to niche or specialised data sources;
• Smaller projects may need to allocate a portion of their token supply to attract an oracle provider's attention;
• New blockchains must negotiate deployments on their networks, often at a high cost.

These issues highlight the existing friction, particularly stemming from triangulation and trust costs. While blockchain aims to create efficient markets, the oracle space has lagged behind—until now.

In contrast, we aim to democratise access to high-quality data by reducing barriers to entry for new data providers, enabling more competitive pricing through open market dynamics. By addressing these inefficiencies head-on, Pragma is not just offering an alternative to existing oracle solutions, but is fundamentally reimagining how blockchain networks interact with real-world data.

Pragma v2: The First Permissionless Oracle

To fully understand the significance of Pragma v2, it's essential to understand how data flows through an oracle. The process begins at the source, where raw data is collected either by data providers or even by the oracle provider in some cases. This could include financial markets, weather sensors, sports scores, or any other data points relevant to protocols' use. At this stage, the data is converted into a standardised format, ready to be filtered and aggregated.

The next phase focuses on aggregating and filtering the raw data. With Pragma v2, you can build any type of feed using Cairo and implement optimised logic. This opens up possibilities for designing and computing everything from long-tail asset pricing to risk management tools, all within a verifiable environment. Creating a new feed is both simple and efficient: deploy a smart contract with your specific logic, choose the data sources, and set the update frequency and destination chain. If you'd like to explore this functionality further, you can find more details in our documentation.

The final phase focuses on delivering the optimised data to the consumers' network. Thanks to Hyperlane, there's no need to bargain for deployment on your chain, as you can do it permissionlessly. No need to negotiate or wait that our team handle the integration – you can do it yourself as the expert of your VM and stack, or simply benefit from Hyperlane's network effects, as they are already deployed across numerous chains.

All in all, Pragma v2 empowers developers with the tools to build optimised, verifiable data feeds with ease, offering flexibility, speed, and permissionless deployment through Hyperlane’s extensive network.

From 'Anyone' to 'Someone'

In the crypto space, there's often enthusiasm around the idea that "anyone can build anything". However, this doesn't always translate into meaningful development. At Pragma, we focus our efforts on building solutions that address real needs and provide tangible value. As the leading oracle on Starknet, we've been securing 100% of its DeFi ecosystem there, and we're committed to continuing our close collaboration with partners to provide them with the best tools and infrastructure.

Today, we're excited to announce a wave of partners building on or with Pragma. We're immensely proud to work with these trailblazers, supporting them as they make a difference in the space:

Conclusion

While we're thrilled to release this significant milestone, it’s just the beginning. There's immense potential to enhance the data market and improve the overall developer experience. Our next release will build upon v2, introducing arbitrary transactions with guaranteed oracle updates. If you're a DeFi builder, we want to talk to you. Stay tuned for updates and get ready to start building limitless.

Join the conversation! Follow Pragma on Twitter for updates, and connect with our community on Telegram.

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