What is Api3?

In a sentence

Api3 is a leading blockchain oracle provider built on first-party oracle nodes and integrated oracle extractable value (OEV) solution—delivering secure, verifiable, multi-source data while enabling dApps to get paid with OEV Rewards.

In a paragraph

Api3 is redefining blockchain oracles with a first-party approach—data comes directly from providers, eliminating middlemen, reducing costs, and increasing security by creating verifiability. With the OEV Network integrated into all data feeds, Api3 empowers dApps to not only power their smart contracts with multi-source and verifiable data but also to recapture oracle extractable value (OEV)—transforming core protocol infrastructure into a new revenue stream. Developers can permissionlessly access over 190 data feeds across all major EVM chains through the Api3 Market, a web3 data marketplace designed to make integration fast and simple. Api3 doesn’t just provide data—it’s performance infrastructure for DeFi, enabling protocols to secure their smart contracts with multi-source, verifiable data while aligning incentives that maximize value.

In 500 words

Api3 is a next-generation blockchain oracle provider designed to meet the evolving needs of decentralized applications (dApps) by delivering secure, verifiable, and multi-source data. Unlike traditional oracles which rely on third-party intermediaries to relay data from providers to smart contracts, Api3 is built on the principle of first-party oracle nodes operated directly by reputable, high-quality data providers. This architecture eliminates inefficiencies, reduces costs, and removes trust assumptions, ensuring that every piece of data is sourced directly, transparently, and verifiably. By connecting smart contracts directly to data providers, Api3 enhances security while offering developers and protocols a proven, scalable, and first-principles-based solution for powering their smart contracts.

A defining feature of the Api3 Oracle Stack is the integration of the OEV Network with all data feeds on the Api3 Market. Oracle extractable value (OEV) represents the value that can be extracted around oracle updates, such as during liquidations on lending protocols that are vital for maintaining protocol health. Traditionally, this value is forfeited to external actors, such as MEV searchers and validators, increasing the costs borne by users. Api3 flips this paradigm by enabling dApps to recapture OEV and transform this critical protocol function into a revenue stream. By integrating OEV Network across all its data feeds, Api3 not only improves the efficiency of liquidations but also provides a new mechanism for dApps to maximize value–unlocking new opportunities to boost yields, reduce fees, or fund innovation.

With over 190 data feeds across all major EVM chains, the Api3 Market is the gateway to next-generation oracle solutions. Developers can permissionlessly activate the feeds they need, instantly accessing high-quality, multi-source data for DeFi, from popular cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, to LSTs, LRTs, and more. No long onboarding, no excessive permissions—just plug-and-play-and-get paid oracle infrastructure.

As DeFi grows more complex and migrates to Layer 2 networks, Api3 ensures that developers have access to the core infrastructure needed to scale securely and efficiently. By centering its solutions around OEV, Api3 redefines what protocols should expect from their oracle providers—not just delivering data but actively enhancing protocol performance.

Api3 is more than an oracle provider—it’s an infrastructure layer that makes DeFi smarter, more efficient, and more profitable. By combining first-party data, with an integrated OEV recapture solution, and a seamless developer experience, Api3 is setting the new standard for blockchain oracles.

Your oracle shouldn’t just power your protocol—it should pay you. Upgrade your oracle to Api3.