Scale or Die 2025: Spilling the TEE (Doctorblocks | Switchboard)

Switchboard, a leading oracle provider for Solana, has unveiled groundbreaking developments that promise to revolutionize the blockchain's DeFi ecosystem. In a revealing presentation at Scale or Die 2025, Switchboard's CTO and founder, Dr. Blox, introduced their innovative on-demand oracle system and a new confidential container framework that could reshape how developers interact with trusted data on Solana.

Summary

Dr. Blox, CTO and founder of Switchboard, presented at Scale or Die 2025, detailing the company's journey since its inception in April 2021. He highlighted Switchboard's significant role in Solana's growth, having updated over two billion data points for price services on the blockchain.

The presentation introduced Switchboard's on-demand oracle system, which eliminates the need for a separate data layer, allowing for more efficient and scalable price feed updates. This system has enabled Switchboard to support over 6,000 unique data feeds, six times more than their closest competitor.

Dr. Blox also revealed Switchboard's new confidential container framework, leveraging Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to enhance security and transparency in oracle operations. This framework aims to make TEEs more accessible to developers by abstracting them into Docker-like containers.

Lastly, the introduction of the Switch token was discussed, outlining its role in governance and network access management within the Switchboard ecosystem.

Key Points:

Switchboard's Evolution and Impact

Switchboard has been an integral part of Solana's ecosystem since April 2021, weathering the ups and downs of the blockchain's growth. The company has gone through several iterations of its oracle system, constantly improving efficiency and scalability. With over two billion data points updated for price services on Solana, Switchboard has established itself as a crucial infrastructure provider for the blockchain.

Dr. Blox's background in computer security and experience with Google's App Engine has informed Switchboard's approach to building a secure and efficient oracle system. This expertise has been particularly valuable in managing the high-fidelity data required for DeFi applications on Solana.

On-Demand Oracle System

Switchboard's on-demand oracle system represents a significant leap forward in oracle technology. Traditional oracle systems maintain a separate data layer that stores price information, which can be accessed by users at any time. However, this approach can be inefficient and lead to data staleness.

Switchboard's innovation lies in eliminating this middle layer. Instead, when a user requests information, the oracles fetch data directly from the source in real-time. This approach not only ensures the freshest possible data but also makes the system highly scalable. Data feeds are only supported on the network as long as they are being actively requested, allowing Switchboard to support an impressive 6,000 unique data feeds.

Confidential Container Framework

One of the most exciting revelations from the presentation was Switchboard's confidential container framework. This system leverages Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to enhance the security and transparency of oracle operations. TEEs are hardware-based secure environments that can prove what code is running on a chip, providing a high level of assurance for sensitive operations.

Switchboard's innovation lies in making TEEs more accessible to developers. By abstracting TEEs into a Docker-like container system, Switchboard aims to simplify the process of creating and deploying secure applications. This framework, dubbed the "Switch Forward Attestation Inference Layer" (SAIL), could have far-reaching implications beyond just oracle services, potentially revolutionizing how secure applications are built and deployed on blockchain networks.

Switch Token and Governance

The presentation also touched on the introduction of the Switch token. This token will play a crucial role in the Switchboard ecosystem, serving multiple purposes:

1. Network Access Management: Users can stake Switch tokens to gain different tiers of access to the network, allowing for more requests per second or minute.

2. Governance: Token holders can participate in governance decisions through Solana Realms, influencing the direction of the Switchboard protocol.

3. Oracle Staking: Users can stake tokens to specific oracles, effectively voting on which oracles should receive more requests and, consequently, more rewards.

This tokenomics model aims to create a balanced ecosystem that incentivizes both high-quality oracle services and active user participation.

Facts + Figures

• Switchboard has been operational since April 2021
• Over 2 billion data points have been updated for price services on Solana by Switchboard
• Switchboard's on-demand system can update data feeds in approximately 350 milliseconds
• The company has supported over 6,000 unique data feeds, six times more than their closest competitor
• Switchboard secures over $5 billion in assets
• The platform has over 1 million unique users
• Switchboard is operational on approximately 10 different blockchain networks
• The speed of light around the world is 181 milliseconds, making Switchboard's 350ms update time quite impressive
• Switchboard's system can fit price update data within a user's transaction, improving efficiency

Top quotes

1. "We've been through the ups and downs of Solana for the schedule. We've been through the cranking of transactions. We've switched models a few times and learning how developers really want to use Solana and use Oracles."

2. "Our goals are building a more secure pricing, sort of a data layer for Solana. And when you think about what all DeFi is built on, it is the broadest data layer possible for this pricing information."

3. "When we're actually building the fastest data service possible, we notice a very obvious middleman. Why do you have that data layer in the middle when people want to get these prices constantly or especially when they want them?"

4. "So, anything else, Switch? You can actually stake Switch and actually hold a wallet that signs a request to this web service that can give you different tiers of requests that you make per second, per minute, et cetera."

5. "So our solution is to actually run any of those types of products inside a TE that we've dockerized for you. You can actually broadcast a quote and then offer your source code for your VM and compare the two."

Questions Answered

What is Switchboard and how long has it been operating?

Switchboard is a leading oracle provider for Solana that has been operational since April 2021. It provides crucial price data services for the Solana ecosystem, having updated over two billion data points since its inception. Switchboard has been an integral part of Solana's growth, adapting its systems and models to meet the evolving needs of developers and users on the platform.

How does Switchboard's on-demand oracle system work?

Switchboard's on-demand oracle system eliminates the need for a separate data layer. Instead of maintaining a constantly updated database of prices, the system fetches data directly from sources only when a user requests it. This approach ensures that the data provided is always fresh and allows for greater scalability. When a user needs price information, they send a request to Switchboard, which then fetches the data and returns it in a transaction that the user can submit along with their own transaction, such as a deposit or withdrawal.

What is the Switch token and how will it be used?

The Switch token is Switchboard's native cryptocurrency that will play several roles in the ecosystem. Users can stake Switch tokens to gain different levels of access to the network, allowing for more requests per second or minute. The token will also be used for governance through Solana Realms, allowing holders to participate in decision-making for the protocol. Additionally, users can stake tokens to specific oracles, effectively voting on which oracles should receive more requests and rewards, incentivizing high-quality oracle services.

What is Switchboard's confidential container framework?

Switchboard's confidential container framework, called the Switch Forward Attestation Inference Layer (SAIL), is a system that leverages Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to enhance security and transparency in oracle operations. It abstracts TEEs into a Docker-like container system, making it easier for developers to create and deploy secure applications. This framework allows for the generation of a key pair inside the enclave, proving that any data signed by this key was produced by the specific code running in the secure environment.

How does Switchboard's system compare to other oracles in terms of speed and data freshness?

Switchboard's on-demand system can update data feeds in approximately 350 milliseconds, which is highly competitive in the oracle space. Unlike some other services that may have sub-second latency but rely on potentially stale data from a separate data layer, Switchboard's approach combines the request latency with data freshness. This means that while the total time might be slightly longer than some competitors, the data provided is always the most up-to-date available, which is crucial for certain DeFi applications like perpetuals markets or Oracle AMMs.