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.


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Ava Labs President on Curve Finance Exploit, Future of Asset Tokenization

Ava Labs president John Wu joins "First Mover" to discuss Avalanche Vista, a $50M initiative for purchasing tokenized assets minted on the Avalanche blockchain, along with the opportunities and challenges of asset tokenization. Plus, his reactions to the Curve Finance exploit, Ripple's partial win against the SEC and outlook for the metaverse.

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Ava Labs President: Curve Finance Exploit 'Highlights the Need for Better Security Audits' in DeFi

Ava Labs president John Wu reflects on Curve, a stablecoin exchange at the heart of decentralized finance (DeFi) on Ethereum, becoming the latest victim of an exploit. Wu notes it's another unfortunate setback for the space and highlights the need for better security audits in the space. "Hopefully, one day, maybe even artificial intelligence can be used to more efficiently review their contracts and make it more secure," Wu added.

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Parrot Finance Starting PRT Token Buyback Next Week

DeFi protocol Parrot Finance is moving forward with an activist investor-led plan to phase out its governance token (PRT) and will begin redemptions on Monday. Parrot’s redemption program comes two years into the project’s unremarkable run on the Solana blockchain, where it has failed to catch fire despite raising over $90 million from investors. "The Hash" panel discusses what this suggests about the fate of the Parrot protocol and the state of DeFi at large.

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DeFi Daily Volume Dwindles to 7-Month Lows as Sector Endures Downswing

On Sunday, the entire DeFi market racked up just $1.12 billion in transactional volume, marking the lowest daily total since January 1, according to DefiLlama. "The Hash" panel discusses what this suggests about the future of open finance.

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Several Top DeFi Assets Moved Higher This Week Despite Pullback Across Broader Market: CMI Data

CoinDesk Market Index data reveals the broad market index moved lower this week, as only 25 of 183 assets returned positively, with 52 outperforming bitcoin. This comes as several top DeFi assets have moved higher during the same time period, despite the pullback across the broad market. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie presents "The Chart of the Day."

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Examining Token Trends Before and After Unlock Events

The Tie recently conducted a study of over 350,000 unique unlock events involving more than 100 tokens. The team examined white papers, blog posts, vesting contracts, public forums, and private communications for each token. The Tie Director of Content Lawrence Lewitinn breaks down the key findings of the study. Plus, insights on valuing decentralized finance (DeFi) using revenue multiples.

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Off to the Races: Crypto Community Flirts With Hamster Race Betting

Blockchain-based platform Hamsters.gg is putting hamsters to the race track, where crypto traders can place BUSD-based bets on who wins. Star hamster racers like “Rocky” and “Buster” are already drawing bets of up to $500 per race. "The Hash" panel discusses how crypto traders have found a novel way to generate returns as bitcoin (BTC) remains flat and the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector fails to fully shake off the bear market lull.

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Bipartisan Senate Bill Wants DeFi to Impose Bank-Like Controls on User Base

Some U.S. Senators are introducing a new bipartisan bill that would place stringent anti-money laundering (AML) requirements on decentralized finance protocols. The bill was introduced Wednesday by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) a member of the Senate Banking Committee. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Mark Warner (D-VA) are co-sponsors. "The Hash" panel discusses details from the description of the bill reviewed by CoinDesk and outlook on U.S. regulation within the crypto sector.

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Berlino: il centro della Finanza decentralizzata e della musica techno

Quando il polo tecnologico europeo incontra una società che premia l'autonomia finanziaria, il risultato è una comunità Cripto che pratica la stessa decentralizzazione che predica. Un esempio concreto: Blockchain Week Berlin, la conferenza annuale di punta del n. 10 posto nei Cripto Hubs 2023 di CoinDesk, è un'iniziativa della comunità auto-organizzata e cripto-agnostica.

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Lack of Advancement in Crypto Regulation Could Make U.S. Less Attractive: Moody's

If crypto legislation in the U.S. remains lacking, it could make the country "comparatively less attractive for both firms and investors," according to a recent report from Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s Investors Service SVP for DeFi and Digital Assets Rajeev Bamra joins "First Mover" to discuss the takeaways from the report and the outlook for regulatory clarity.

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