DeFi

DeFi, short for decentralized finance, represents a shift in the financial sector by leveraging blockchain technology, primarily Ethereum, to eliminate traditional financial intermediaries. It enables various financial applications, from simple transactions to complex contracts, through smart contracts that execute automatically under specific conditions. Key DeFi applications include decentralized exchanges (DEXs), stablecoins, lending platforms, and prediction markets. DeFi offers financial services like loans and interest-earning opportunities without traditional identity verification, relying instead on collateral, usually in cryptocurrency. This innovative sector promises increased accessibility and efficiency but comes with risks, such as market volatility and unregulated projects.


Videos

DeFi Market Rebounds to $50B as Speculators Hunt for Yield

The total amount of capital locked or staked across all DeFi protocols reached $50 billion on Tuesday for the first time in six months, as the value of underlying assets surged and investors sought to secure a yield on their crypto holdings. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie presents "The Chart of the Day."

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How Spool Is Aiming to Help Institutions Enter DeFi

SpoolDAO, which wants to help institutions enter decentralized finance (DeFi), has launched v2 of its middleware product. Spool lead contributor Simon Schaber discusses the current demand from TradFi institutions, details on Spool V2 and mitigating some of the risks that come with DeFi for institutional clients.

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Videos

Ethereum Average Gas Fees Touched Highest Level in Six Months: Kaiko

DeFi activity is picking up, according to a recent report by blockchain analytics platform Kaiko. Wallet data shows the average gas fees on Ethereum touched the highest level in roughly six months recently. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie presents "The Chart of the Day."

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Videos

Could the Bank Secrecy Act Harm Crypto? Coin Center Thinks So

In this episode of Unchained, Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, explains why the IRS's proposed broker rule for tax reporting in crypto could harm the crypto industry as well as the security and privacy of users. He explains how Coin Center thinks the IRS should accomplish its aims, and why that would even work for collecting taxes on DeFi gains.

Unchained

Videos

The U.S. Is Weighing Crypto Tax Rules: What Could Happen Next?

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a public hearing slated on Monday about proposed regulations for digital asset transactions. CoinDesk Global Policy & Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De discusses what to expect, along with some of the concerns about the framework, which includes user privacy.

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Videos

How a New Tax Proposal From the IRS Could Impact DeFi

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a public hearing slated on Monday about proposed regulations for digital asset transactions. CoinDesk Managing Editor of Global Policy and Regulation Nikhilesh De discusses the crypto industry's reaction to the proposal and what it could mean for decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.

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Videos

Injective Survey Suggests Many Traders Use Both Centralized and Decentralized Exchanges

As part of CoinDesk's Trading Week 2023, presented by CME Group, Injective Labs co-founder and CEO Eric Chen joins "First Mover" to share insights into some of the strategies for DeFi traders, including 64% saying they trade on both a centralized and decentralized exchange. Injective says the data was collected from hundreds of traders contacted via multiple channels. After the preliminary data verification, answers were included from 224 qualified respondents.

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Videos

Curve Finance’s Stablecoin Maintains Peg as Others Struggle: Kaiko

Curve Finance's stablecoin, crvUSD, is maintaining its peg as other stablecoins struggle, emerging as a rare bright spot amidst a bear market that has hit DeFi protocols especially hard, according to Kaiko data. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie presents "The Chart of the Day."

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Videos

CFTC Commissioner Mersinger Discusses Spot Bitcoin ETF Optimism, Crypto Regulation

As part of CoinDesk's State of Crypto 2023 event in Washington, D.C., CFTC Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger shares insights into the state of U.S. crypto regulation and also explains why she's "not surprised" about spot bitcoin ETF excitement fueling market optimism. Plus, Mersinger weighs in on the regulator recently targeting three decentralized finance (DeFi) operations and Binance renewing its push to fend off charges from the CFTC.

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Videos

Crypto Spot Market Regulation Gap Unaddressed for 'Far Too Long': Former CFTC Commissioner Stump

As part of CoinDesk's State of Crypto Week, presented by Chainalysis, former CFTC commissioner Dawn Stump discusses her take on the biggest challenges and gaps in the U.S. crypto regulatory landscape. Plus, what lawmakers can do when it comes to overseeing the crypto spot market, industry implications of ether futures ETFs and the outlook for regulating decentralized finance (DeFi).

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