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.


Markets

Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops to $36.3K as DeFi Jumps to $32B on Ether FOMO

The amount of crypto in USD values locked in decentralized finance has reached $32.8 billion, a new high.

CoinDesk 20 Bitcoin Price Index

Finance

$10M Fund From Cosmos-Based Terra Will Gladly Back DeFi Projects on Ethereum

The fund will pay for the one thing devs can't do internally: security audits.

Security for hire

Learn

What Is Uniswap? A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Uniswap is an automated ethereum-based crypto exchange with its own governance token, UNI.

Uniswap unicorn balloon (Getty Images)

Tech

Ethereum Transaction Fees Hit Record Highs as Ether, DeFi Coins Soar

The average Ethereum transaction fee has passed $20 for the first time.

Old gas pump

Markets

Ether Soars to Another All-Time High, Carrying DeFi and Rival Coins With It

Investor excitement ahead of the CME's planned ether futures contract is one reason for the price push.

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Tech

Yearn Finance Votes to Inflate YFI Token Supply by 20%

The vote to mint an additional 6,666 YFI in order to fund future development on the Yearn protocol has passed.

U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C.

Finance

One Big Pool: Balancer's New Version Cuts Down Transactions and Gas Fees

Version 2 of the DeFi site also has an "asset manager" where idle funds earn yield.

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Tech

DeFi Privacy Is Getting a Boost From Polkadot Parachain Manta Network

Manta Network will build MantaSwap now that it has closed a $1.1 million funding round.

Manta-Network

Markets

First Mover: Federal Reserve Soup Now Includes Bitcoin, DeFi, Silver, GameStop

Market news from crypto to Wall Street is all over the place.

Markets news from crypto to Wall Street has become a soup of previously unthinkable combinations. Can the Fed handle it?

Finance

Aave's Founder Angel Invests to Grow DeFi's Head Start on the Banks

Stani Kulechov has backed nearly 40 projects in his search for founders who see two or three moves ahead.

Stani Kulechov (left) at Devcon V in Osaka, Japan.