I have been thinking of alternatives to a "price feed" that are more decentralized and harder to manipulate.
So far what I have come up with involves creating an unrestricted prediction market on the "error" in the moving average.
If we have a moving average and we have an "error" metric then we can estimate what the price feed would have produced.
The benefit of an "error" metric is that it should hover around -5% to 5%. This is critical because you can speculate in an error market without losing exposure to BTSX price movements. It also means that there is never a need to have margin calls in the error market.
This would guide the short wall without delegates having to publish a feed... instead arb bots would correct the feed price relative to the moving average.
The other alternative is of course a market that sets the required collateral ratio... this simultaneously decrease new shorts and put pressure on existing shorts to cover or risk a fee.
The primary risk in these markets is that the markets can be manipulated and that is the moral equivalent of the "feeds being bought".
For now a "price feed" is simple, works, and is relatively low trust.