Edge
Introduction
At Chaos Labs, we are at the forefront of securing and optimizing on-chain financial applications. We're excited to share our latest collaboration with GMX and Chainlink Labs. GMX's long-awaited V2 launch on the Arbitrum network utilizes the industry-standard Chainlink Data Streams, the all-in-one data solution for DeFi that combines low-latency data delivery and automated trade execution.
The Derivatives Landscape
The DeFi derivatives market is rapidly evolving, thanks partly to the advent of low-cost and high-throughput blockchains like Arbitrum. Minimal gas fees and short time-to-finality — their key characteristics — make an optimized on-chain trading experience like the one GMX offers possible. This innovation sets the stage for what we anticipate to be a period of explosive growth in this sector.
However, with great innovation comes great responsibility. As the DeFi derivatives market expands, the role of oracles — the entities responsible for feeding accurate, reliable, and timely data into these financial ecosystems — becomes increasingly critical. The complexity of these systems and the incentives they create can potentially open up new avenues for exploits. This is where the importance of Oracle security skyrockets, and it is precisely where our expertise at Chaos Labs comes into play.
We understand that Oracle security is not just a feature but the bedrock upon which the reliability and security of decentralized applications are built. Our mission is to ensure that as the DeFi space grows, it does so on a foundation of security that is as robust as it is resilient.
Join us as we delve deeper into this landmark project and explore the intricacies of securing the future of finance. Welcome to a new chapter in DeFi, one where innovation, security, and growth converge, brought to you by the strategic partnership of Chaos Labs, Chainlink Labs, and GMX.
The Critical Role of Oracle Security in DeFi
Oracle security is a cornerstone of secure DeFi applications. The integrity of oracles is paramount as they feed critical data that dictates the state of applications. The accuracy of Oracle data directly influences financial outcomes, such as the timing of liquidations or the profitability of liquidity providers. Therefore, selecting an oracle service is a strategic decision that requires careful consideration of its resilience, decentralization, and reliability.
At Chaos Labs, we've built tools to test an Oracle network's robustness and resiliency. We test various exploit verticals and verify the integrity of Oracles by ensuring that the manipulation cost outweighs any theoretical payoff.
Oracle Security at the Crossroads of DeFi Derivatives
The expansion of the DeFi derivatives market has introduced new levels of access to leverage, increasing both the volume and size of transactions. This evolution brings about new challenges for Oracle security, particularly regarding latency and the high stakes involved with leverage.
Chainlink has developed a solution to these emerging challenges with Chainlink Data Streams. This transparent and decentralized data infrastructure is designed to cater to the specific needs of latency-sensitive markets, such as derivatives. In such markets, even a small price change can have significant implications. For example, a 1% price shift would likely not trigger a liquidation in a standard lending scenario. However, in a 100x levered position (which can be expected in leveraged derivatives markets), a 1% move could lead to a liquidation.
This outsized impact of small price changes in leveraged derivatives markets underscores the importance of timely and accurate data delivery to prevent potential frontrunning and manipulation. Oracles serving these markets must prioritize low-latency data transmission and implement comprehensive data quality controls to ensure data accuracy and freshness. These controls should include diverse data sources and advanced detection methods to mitigate any risk of price manipulation, helping create a secure and reliable DeFi ecosystem.
GMX V2 Utilizes Chainlink Data Streams To Create High-Integrity Markets
GMX, a leader in the DeFi perpetual exchange space, is taking a significant leap forward with the launch of V2.
Scaling GMX V2 is mission-critical, and for this, GMX partnered with Chaos Labs to ensure that the expansion was secure and efficient. A key component of providing a fair trader experience was integrating a data solution that upheld high-security standards and delivered data with low latency, high fidelity, and free from conflicts of interest.
Chainlink Data Streams provides ultra-low-latency data updates generated per block—essential for real-time trading environments that help protect users from unfair market manipulation and exploitation. This speed is backed by Chainlink's industry-standard decentralized infrastructure featuring world-class node operators, and numerous top-tier data providers incentivized to reliably provide users with accurate and timely data, providing multiple layers of decentralization, defense-in-depth security, and conflict-of-interest-free data.
Automations for Detecting On-Chain Trade Submission
An underappreciated risk for traders is ‘adverse selection,’ a term for when a protocol’s automation network for price retrieval can exploit its privileged position and select a favorable price to settle a trade. To protect against this risk, we look for automation networks built without any incentives for improper price selection.
To this end, the integration also utilizes Chainlink Automation for a credibly neutral settlement infrastructure that eliminates the risk of adverse selection. This system detects real-time trade submissions, retrieves the latest price data, and executes trades precisely. The decentralized nature of Chainlink Automation helps ensure prompt on-chain data delivery and execution, while the on-chain verifier contract provides an additional layer of data verification.
Beyond market data, Chainlink delivers GMX V2 a wealth of trading information, including bids, asks, market depth, and volatility metrics. This rich data enables GMX V2 to implement sophisticated on-chain risk management strategies and dynamically adjust parameters to optimize capital efficiency and maintain system integrity.
GMX's integration with Chainlink Data Streams sets a new standard for DeFi platforms, particularly in the derivatives space where the importance of Oracle security is magnified, by addressing critical security concerns such as latency, protecting users against the potential for price manipulation, and meeting the need for rigorous data quality controls.
Conclusion
In the dynamic world of DeFi, risk management is a discipline that never stands still. At Chaos Labs, we are committed to not just keeping pace but setting the pace. Our recent collaboration with industry leaders GMX and Chainlink Labs is a testament to our dedication to advancing risk management and data security within the DeFi space.