Polymarket Integrates UMA’s Optimistic Oracle
Tl;dr — Polymarket has integrated UMA’s optimistic oracle. UMA’s OO provides automated and decentralized resolution for the information markets displayed on Polymarket’s interface.
An Information Market Resolved by a Decentralized, Optimistic Oracle
An optimistic oracle is one where data is proposed in response to a request, and it is accepted as true only if it is not disputed during a “liveness period.” This differs from a price feed oracle, where prices are streamed on-chain but without any recourse or error protection.
UMA’s optimistic oracle is suited to the needs of an information market like Polymarket’s. This is because the data requests are what are called “long tail.” There is no consistent data feed for this data on-chain, instead, it is more efficient to make specific requests for this data with a human resolution component when needed.
“Will a certain protocol give an airdrop by March 31, 2022,” or “When will Ethereum Merge to Proof-of-Stake?” are examples of markets on Polymarket.
What does this mean for Polymarket and for UMA?
Pushing the result on-chain is necessary. This is the only way that the markets can be “resolved,” meaning that the owed amounts can be redeemed by those who made the correct prediction. An optimistic oracle such as UMA’s allows for this process to be trustless and secure.
The value of the markets resolved by UMA become TVL in UMA’s ecosystem. They also provide opportunities for the community to participate directly with UMA’s OO by helping to answer data requests. Details about this and other rewards programs will be announced soon. Join UMA’s Discord to be the first to find out.
