# Oracle ## Blockchain Oracles In the blockchain space, an "**oracle**" refers to a smart contract or entity that provides off-chain information to smart contracts on the blockchain. Despite being outstanding self executing tools, smart contracts typically lack the ability to access real-world data, such as the price of a commodity or asset, the outcome of a sporting event, or other external information. For Vaults, the **XAU₮ Oracle** is a fundamental piece of the design, as it allows the smart contract to value the XAU₮ tokens provided as collateral by the user. The **XAU₮ Oracle** used by Alloy by Tether Vaults can be found [**here**](https://etherscan.io/address/0x02C65719Da4317d84D808740920d6f6285045660), and communicates to the Vault the value of XAU₮ expressed in USD. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.alloy.tether.to/alloy-by-tether/alloy-by-tether-vaults/oracle.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.