Weekly Roundup: Switchboard’s Oracle Aggregator, Pichi Finance’s Funding, and Daylight’s Testnet Launch

Thursday, Aug. 1

Switchboard Unveils ‘Oracle Aggregator’ to Combat Price-Manipulation Threats

In a significant development, Switchboard, a decentralized and customizable oracle network, has introduced its innovative Oracle Aggregator. This new tool is designed to empower users by enabling them to effortlessly aggregate data from a variety of oracle networks, such as Chainlink and Pyth Network, thereby fortifying decentralized applications (dApps) against potential price manipulation attacks. The team emphasized that “by aggregating data off-chain, Switchboard’s updated user interface minimizes the necessity for gas-heavy operations while enhancing data integrity.” Furthermore, the Oracle Aggregator provides developers with increased flexibility to choose specific data sources they wish to utilize, while also allowing them to exclude sources that do not align with their quality standards.

Pichi Finance Secures $2.5 Million in Seed Funding for Points Trading Protocol

Pichi Finance, an innovative protocol focused on trustless points trading, has successfully secured $2.5 million in a seed funding round. This round was spearheaded by prominent investors including UOB Venture Management, Signum Capital, and Mantle Network. The team stated, “This investment will be directed towards launching new points programs, creating vaults that facilitate earning yield alongside points, and expanding our operations to additional Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains. Our aim is to unlock the intrinsic value of points through a trustless marketplace that enables users to trade these rewards seamlessly. Our ERC-6551 account solution effectively resolves the challenge of points being tethered to individual accounts, allowing users to trade points securely and with ease.”

Daylight Launches Testnet and Raises $9 Million to Facilitate ‘Virtual Power Plants’

In a remarkable stride towards energy decentralization, Daylight has launched its testnet while also announcing a successful $9 million funding round led by the venture capital firm a16z. The funding round also saw participation from Framework Ventures and existing investors such as Lerer Hippeau, Lattice Fund, and Escape Velocity. According to a blog post from a16z crypto, “The Daylight ecosystem is structured around three essential components that aim to enable users to construct ‘virtual power plants’ utilizing distributed energy resources (DERs). This pioneering approach not only enhances energy efficiency but also promotes sustainability within the energy sector.

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