Last night, I chatted with a few guys who are working on DEX on CKB until three in the morning. We are all solving the same problem: how to let assets on Bitcoin know their true price?
This question sounds a bit absurd, but it's a thorn in the hearts of all BTCFi developers. You can issue assets on UTXO, you can cross-chain, you can create AMM, but when it comes time to need off-chain data—liquidation, pricing, settlement—you have to raise your hand like an elementary school student and ask the external oracle: "Hey, how much is BTC now?"
The existing oracles are mostly designed for Ethereum's account model. In the world of Bitcoin's UTXO, they are like wearing suits to climb the Great Wall—elegant, but really not usable.
What we need is not an oracle that is 'compatible' with Bitcoin. We need a data layer that grows out of Bitcoin's philosophy.
Bitcoin's security should serve Bitcoin's data
Recently, I have been paying attention to APRO, not because it shouts the slogan of 'Bitcoin sentiment', but because it has done something very essential: allowing the security of oracles to directly inherit Bitcoin's security.
The design of staking BTC through Babylon to become a node struck me. This is no longer 'another oracle project', but extends the trust of Bitcoin itself into the data field. The cost to attack it becomes the cost to attack Bitcoin—this security assumption is what Bitcoin's ecosystem should embody.
UTXO is not a limitation, but another form of freedom
Many people find the UTXO model 'old-fashioned', but those who actually write scripts know that its determinism and parallel processing capability are, in fact, treasures for financial applications. APRO's 'push-pull combination' data model finally has someone designing seriously for the characteristics of UTXO, rather than simply transplanting the EVM model.
You can access data on demand (save Gas), and you can also subscribe to key thresholds (ensure timeliness). This flexibility is what prepares for high-frequency trading, micro-payments, and real-time settlement scenarios on future Bitcoin L2.
Ecology is not an integration list, but the soil for survival
What I value about APRO is that it does not stop at the surface integration of 'supporting multiple chains'. It is working with Nervos CKB to create a native price oracle for UTXO Stack, providing data for Runes assets, and solving asset pricing within the Lightning Network with Lnfi.
These are the areas where Bitcoin's ecosystem is genuinely growing. If oracles do not delve into these scenarios, they are just data movers, not the nervous system of the ecosystem.
Finally, let’s talk about something practical
I do not easily shout 'Bitcoin L2 summer has come', but I know that if Bitcoin is to surpass HODL and become a truly programmable currency network, it must be able to safely 'perceive' the world. Data is not an add-on, it is the basic sensory input.
Attempts like APRO, regardless of success or failure, at least point in the right direction: returning to the essence of Bitcoin, using its security model to build its data layer. This is much more sincere than rigidly applying the EVM chain template.
Perhaps soon, we will no longer ask 'What applications can run on Bitcoin', but rather ask 'Does the data of this application deserve Bitcoin's security?'.
This road is still long, but I am willing to watch it take shape step by step.@APRO Oracle #APRO $AT
