What is decentralized finance (DeFi)?

Decentralized finance, often referred to as DeFi for short, is a new financial ecosystem built using blockchain technology. It aims to provide a more open, transparent, and accessible financial system that is not controlled or supervised by any central government or authority. Instead, DeFi leverages the functionalities provided by smart contracts and decentralized networks to facilitate financial transactions and interactions.


Since DeFi is built on open-source protocols that are publicly accessible and transparent, it allows people from across the world to participate in the DeFi ecosystem and access its various financial services without the need for any intermediaries or gatekeepers. This also results in it being highly innovative and constantly evolving, as developers and community members are constantly building new protocols and applications.

Some important concepts related to DeFi

Smart Contracts

A smart contract is a special computer program that is designed to automatically execute the terms of a contract when certain conditions are met. The DeFi ecosystem leverages smart contracts for facilitating financial transactions such as lending and borrowing, in a trustless and decentralized manner. Once deployed on the blockchain, smart contracts become transparent and tamper-proof, which is essential in ensuring trust and security in the DeFi ecosystem.

Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)

A decentralized exchange (DEX) is a cryptocurrency trading platform that functions without the need for any central authority or intermediary. They use smart contracts to facilitate trades and blockchain-based order books to match buyers and sellers. Because DEXs are decentralized, they are less susceptible to hacking and offer more privacy and autonomy to their users in comparison to centralized exchanges.

Non-custodial Wallets

A non-custodial wallet is a special digital wallet that gives its users full control over their own private keys, which means that the users have full autonomy over their funds and are responsible for their own security as only the person with the private key has the authority to perform transactions in the wallet. In contrast, custodial wallets are controlled by a central authority, such as a government or an exchange, and users do not have full control over their own private keys. Non-custodial wallets are essential for decentralized finance, as they allow users to securely store and manage their own assets.

Yield farming

Yield farming is a DeFi strategy that involves providing liquidity to a protocol or platform in the form of tokens. In return, the platform gives rewards that are generated through the appreciation of the tokens or through interest earned on the liquidity provided. This is becoming increasingly popular in the DeFi ecosystem, as it allows for high returns on the initial investment. However, it also comes with a very high level of risk, as the value of the tokens that have been invested and the returns on investment can be highly volatile.

Applications of decentralized financing

DeFi provides a secure and transparent way of conducting ecommerce, with some of its most common uses being Lending, Trading, Insurance, etc. Compound and Aave are some examples of DeFi lending platforms that use smart contracts to allows their users to lend and borrow a variety of assets such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. These platforms use specially designed algorithms to determine the interest rates on loans, and they typically offer higher interest rates than traditional banks. Lending using decentralized financing is also more accessible and transparent because it doesn't require any person information or credit checks.

DeFi trading platforms, such as Uniswap and Pancake swap, allow users to trade cryptocurrencies and other digital assets without requiring any know-your-customer (KYC) or approval from a central authority. They typically offer lower fees and faster trading times in comparison to centralized exchanges, while also allowing the trading of blockchain based tokens such as ERC-20 tokens.


DeFi based insurance protocols, such as Nexus Mutual, allow users to purchase insurance coverage for their assets and transactions using blockchain technology. Unlike traditional insurance, DeFi insurance is decentralized and community-driven, making the whole process more transparent and efficient as claims are paid out quickly and automatically using smart contracts.

Security risks related to DeFi

Along with blockchain technology, decentralized financing is still a relatively new and rapidly evolving ecosystem, and lack of properly established rules and guidelines can lead to several security risks such as:

• Smart contracts are self-executing code, which means that once deployed, any bugs or vulnerabilities in the code can be exploited by hackers, which can lead to loss of funds. It's important for developers and users to research and use protocols that have undergone proper auditing.
• Impermanent loss is another risk that can occur when providing liquidity to a decentralized exchange (DEX). It happens when the price of the assets in the liquidity pool changes, which causes the total value of the liquidity provider's shares in the pool to decrease. Hence, users should research the DEXs and the assets, while also using various diversification strategies to spread the risk across different pools and assets.
• Phishing and scams are prevalent in the crypto world, which extends to the DeFi ecosystem as well. Users should be cautious of suspicious links or offers, and it is crucial to verify the authenticity of a website or contract before interacting with it, as hackers with malicious often try to steal other users' funds by making fake contracts and websites.

Future of DeFi

DeFi is a rapidly evolving ecosystem and it has some serious economic and financial implications in the future, as more more protocols and platforms are developed and more users and institutions get involved. DeFi protocols and platforms eliminate the need for any intermediaries such as banks or financial institutions, which can lead to lower costs, faster transactions, and more accessible financial services.

It provides financial services that are more accessible to the general public, as it does not require submitting any personal information or running credit checks. This means that anyone with internet access can access DeFi services, regardless of their location or creditworthiness. Since it is not controlled by any central authority and offers a plain playing field for new and established players, it can lead to increased competition and innovation in the financial services industry.

As the DeFi ecosystem continues to grow, we may see the emergence of new use cases, such as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and decentralized finance for physical assets. Developments in other areas such as scaling and privacy-enhancing technologies, along with more legal and regulatory clarity, will play a major role in shaping the future of DeFi and ensuring its mainstream adoption.