> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://exliquid.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://exliquid.gitbook.io/docs/trading/oracle-index-mark-price.md).

# Oracle, index price and mark price

Exliquid separates **reference pricing** from the last traded price so that market display, PnL and risk do not all depend on the same single number.

## Oracle price input

External market observations provide the reference data used by the network's price model.

For users and integrations, the important contract is that price inputs used for trading risk are validated and become part of the network's accepted market state before they influence margin or liquidation.

The internal collection, aggregation and submission topology is not part of the public integration contract.

## Index price

The **index price** represents the accepted external-market reference for a market.

It is used as an anchor for perpetual-market pricing and risk calculations.

## Mark price

The **mark price** is the risk-oriented price used for calculations such as:

* unrealized PnL;
* account or position equity;
* margin evaluation;
* liquidation eligibility.

The mark price is intentionally distinct from assuming that the most recent trade is always the correct risk reference. This reduces the effect of isolated or unusual trades on account risk.

## Last trade price

The **last trade price** is useful for market display and trade history, but clients should not substitute it for the mark price when calculating risk-sensitive values.

## Price protection

When reference-price data is unavailable, stale or otherwise outside the current market-safety rules, the market can restrict risk-increasing activity.

The exact protective behavior is versioned market behavior. Integrations should surface the market status returned by the API instead of guessing whether a market is safe to trade.

## API access

Use:

* `GET /api/v1/markets/{market}/prices` for current market price information;
* the `prices` WebSocket channel for low-latency updates;
* market and risk endpoints for the resulting account impact.

See [Funding and margin](/docs/trading/funding-and-margin.md) and [Liquidation and risk](/docs/trading/liquidation-and-risk.md).


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