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.


Finance

Solana’s Biggest DeFi Lender Almost Got Rekt. Then Binance Stepped In

Solend’s whale crisis rattled depositors and threatened to crash Solana. Can the lending protocol recover?

(State Library of New South Wales/Wikimedia Commons)

Videos

Kavita Gupta on 'Cascading Effect' of UST Crash on Crypto Lending & DeFi

Kavita Gupta, Delta Blockchain Fund founder and former ConsenSys Ventures head, discusses the "cascading effect" of TerraUSD (UST)'s crash on the wider crypto industry, with crypto lending and DeFi activity on the ropes. Plus, reactions to Morgan Creek looking to counter FTX's BlockFi bailout offer.

Recent Videos

Finance

Ethereum Lending Protocol XCarnival Hit With $3.8M Exploit, Recovers 50%

The DeFi protocol persuaded a hacker to return $1.9 million.

(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)

Markets

Opaque Platforms and Intertwined Protocols Pose Big Risk to Crypto

Second article in a series about risks we’re thinking about during these crypto down days.

Interdependent protocols and black-box platforms make for a dicey pairing. (Edge2Edge Media/Unsplash)

Videos

Bitcoin Protocol vs. Platform Risk

CoinDesk’s Christie Harkin explains what makes protocol failures in DeFi projects different from bitcoin (BTC)’s latest downturn.

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Tech

Convex Finance Sets Up New URLs After Website Address Is Hijacked

At least five wallets were affected in the front-end exploit. No funds on verified contracts were exploited.

(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)

Videos

Chainalysis Exec on Leveraging Blockchain Transparency to Prevent Market Contagion

Chainalysis Director of Research Kimberly Grauer shares insights into her findings on bitcoin (BTC) prices, tech stocks and the DeFi ecosystem, and what they reveal about the need for transparency of blockchain data amid fears of crypto market contagion.

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Opinion

The Risks and Benefits of On-Chain Credit Protocols

"Unsecured lending" repeats some of issues of undercollateralized lending that blew up some crypto firms, but offers a potential solution.

(Brad Helmink/Unsplash)