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.


Opinion

DeFi Fumbled Its Post-FTX Advantage in 2023, but There’s Still Hope for 2024

Major factors indicate that this could be a breakout year for decentralized infrastructure, SynFutures CEO Rachel Lin writes.

Decentralized finance activity is starting to pick up. (Alina Grubnyak/Unsplash)

Finance

Manta Pacific Replaces Base as Fourth Largest Scaling Solution: L2Beat

Manta Pacific is the native layer 2 of the Manta Network.

L2Beat: Scaling solutions ranked as per TVL (L2Beat)

Markets

Aave Community Votes To Integrate PayPal’s Stablecoin

Majority of token holders favor onboard PYUSD in AAVE's Ethereum pool, the ongoing vote shows.

Aave is the Finnish word for ghost (Metis)

Policy

DeFi Identity Should Be Focus of U.S. Policymakers, CFTC Says

Policymakers should identify the projects of greatest concern and prioritize progress on digital identity, a report from one of the regulator's committees said.

Christy Goldsmith Romero (CFTC)

Markets

ENS Token Jumps 50% as Vitalik Buterin Hails It as 'Super Important'

The token touched the highest level since April and volume increased more than 600%.

Vitalik Buterin shares a new blog post on Ethereum's roadmap to address scaling, privacy, and wallet security. (CoinDesk)

Finance

Jupiter Targets JUP Airdrop for End of January

The Solana-based trading aggregator will test the longevity of the Solana frenzy.

Planet Jupiter and its great red spot

Finance

Blast Hits $1.1B in Deposits More Than a Month Before It's Due to Go Live

Depositors will receive an airdrop that can be redeemed in May 2024.

Blast total value locked (DefiLlama)

Markets

PancakeSwap Proposes to Reduce CAKE Token Supply by 300 Million

More than 99.95% of the community, representing 70,000 votes from CAKE holders, favored the proposal shortly after it went live.

pile of pancakes on a plate.

Tech

Crypto Users Lost $2B to Hacks, Scams and Exploits in 2023, De.Fi Says

The figure is roughly half the estimated $4.2 billion of 2022, a year that also included $40 billion lost through the collapse of Terra, Celsius and FTX.

Crypto hacks, scams and exploits netted some $2 billion this year. (fikry anshor/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Videos

Crypto Market Leaders and Laggards in 2023

"CoinDesk Daily" host Amitoj Singh breaks down some of the biggest winners and losers in the crypto market this year. CoinDesk Indices data reveals that the computing sector was the clear leader among sectors in 2023, while DeFi underperformed. Bitcoin (BTC) was also a standout, rising roughly 164% year-to-date.

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