Tellor

Tellor is a decentralized oracle network that plays a pivotal role in smart contracts by providing high-quality, reliable real-world data. Think of it as a bridge between the internet and the blockchain, carrying trustworthy information into an environment that otherwise cannot access it. The protocol encourages an open, permissionless network of data reporting and validation, ensuring data can be provided and checked by anyone.

What makes Tellor different from centralized alternatives is how it sources and validates data. Tellor produces data through the collective power of its reporters, not relying on any single source. It allows users to define custom data types, enabling unique requests no other protocol can fulfill. Anyone can participate without permission from a gatekeeper. If bad data is submitted, the network catches it through a built-in dispute process, and the reporter who submitted false information loses their staked collateral.

Tellor was founded in 2018 and launched its mainnet in 2019. The U.S.-based founding team includes Brenda Loya, Nick Fett, and Michael Zemrose, with backgrounds in blockchain, economics, regulation, and machine learning. Brenda Loya is a well-known Ethereum developer who also served as an economist for the U.S. government. The team’s path to building Tellor was practical rather than theoretical. They started at Daxia, a derivatives protocol on Ethereum. Daxia created tokens representing long or short sides of a trading pair and required an oracle to execute these smart contracts. When no reliable oracle existed to power their product, they built one.

The protocol has undergone several meaningful upgrades since its initial release. In September 2020, Tellor v2 went live on the mainnet. In October, the team removed the admin key, eliminating the last centralized mechanism in Tellor’s protocol. Later, they launched TellorX, which addresses key scalability issues by moving from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake for increased speed and efficiency. It also added byte data for more robust data request types and flexible code for multi-chain implementations. The most significant development came in 2024 with the launch of Tellor Layer, a standalone oracle blockchain based on the Cosmos SDK. It is designed to provide faster data delivery, scalable security, and seamless data bridging to any chain.

Tellor’s growth has closely tracked the broader expansion of DeFi. It launched in 2019 on Ethereum and expanded to several layer 2 chains, including Optimism and Mantle. The protocol now supports multiple networks, including Ethereum, Polygon, and Algorand. In market activity, 2023 was a breakout year. TRB started the year around $12 and steadily gained momentum alongside a recovering crypto market, reaching an all-time high above $600 in December 2023. The token closed the year dramatically higher, cementing Tellor’s position as one of the oracle sector’s most-watched protocols.

On the funding side, Tellor’s early backers include two respected names in the crypto industry. Tellor received investments from DeFi leader MakerDAO and Binance Labs. Binance invested $250,000 during the seed round, with total funding reaching $400,000. Instead of conducting an ICO, the founders chose to distribute 10% of miner rewards to the founders’ treasury, reasoning that a developer share would finance building a sustained and secure oracle network, but only if they delivered a product the market needed.

Tellor’s use cases extend beyond simple price feeds. DeFi protocols use it to power lending platforms, decentralized exchanges, and synthetic asset products. Tellor also explores integrating NFT-related data onto the blockchain, acknowledging challenges in manipulating NFT floor prices. It allows users to define custom data specifications to create robust price indices for NFTs. Any application needing an external fact confirmed on-chain, from commodity prices to sports outcomes, can tap into Tellor’s reporter network. Tellor maintains popular data feeds, called Enshrined Feeds, which are regularly reported without specific tips or requests.

The native token of the Tellor ecosystem is TRB, also called Tributes. Reporters and validators must stake TRB as collateral to ensure honest participation and network security. Users can tip in TRB to incentivize prompt data submissions. TRB is minted as inflationary rewards, with 75% going to reporters and 25% to validators, promoting network activity. It is also used in disputes, where token holders vote on the accuracy of reported data, with potential slashing for dishonest reporters. TRB holders participate in protocol governance, voting on upgrades. There was no pre-mine and no ICO. There is no fixed supply of TRB; total supply increases based on the base reward paid to data providers for successful queries.

TRB is available on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges for everyday purchases. However, to move large token amounts, acquire locked tokens, or transact through SAFT notes, a centralized exchange is not suitable. For these situations, Acquire.Fi’s OTC and Secondaries Marketplace is built specifically for that purpose.

If you want to buy Tellor tokens OTC, you can do so by engaging with existing listings already posted in the Acquire.Fi marketplace, or you can submit a new Buy listing with your preferred valuation and token amount.

If you want to sell Tellor tokens OTC and exit an existing position, you can engage with active buyer listings on the platform or submit a new Sell listing with the terms that work for you.

Acquire.Fi handles the process from there. The team conducts background checks, sends NDAs, and introduces the counterparties. Buyer and seller each take responsibility for their own due diligence and payment settlement. Acquire.Fi is not a broker-dealer, but the team actively assists throughout the transaction to help both sides reach a close.