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.


Tech

Uniswap Rises to Top of DeFi Charts Thanks to Rival Looking to Unseat It

Uniswap is now at the top of DeFi Pulse with $1.65 billion in total value locked. Sources say the surge is driven by a new Uniswap competitor, SushiSwap.

(Kofookoo/Unsplash)

Tech

Yearn.Finance's New Vault Leverages DeFi 'Triforce': ETH, MakerDAO and Curve

Yearn.Finance will make it easy for anyone who holds ETH to get involved with yield farming with just one cryptocurrency, ETH.

(Bruce Christianson/Unsplash)

Markets

Binance Launches Smart Contract-Enabled Blockchain, Adds Staking for Its Coin

Crypto exchange Binance has launched the mainnet for its smart contract-enabled blockchain and is also introducing staking for BNB tokens.

Binance ex-CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao (CoinDesk archives)

Markets

First Mover: Rookie YFI Token Jumped 8-Fold in August as DeFi Dominated

Yearn.finance's YFI token, which looked like another inside DeFi joke when it launched in July, dominated the August return rankings.

Yearn.finance came in first in First Mover's monthly digital-asset performance ranking for August. (Sumiyoshi Hiromori/Metropolitan Museum of Art, modified by CoinDesk)

Markets

DeFi Is a 'Complete Scam,' Says Controversial Entrepreneur Craig Wright

nChain Chief Scientist Craig Wright has delivered an obscenity-laden interview discussing decentralized finance and stablecoins, calling such projects a "complete scam" and "illegal."

Craig Wright

Markets

Market Wrap: Bitcoin Climbs to $11.5K With Record Amount in DeFi

Bitcoin made gains Friday, both in price and what's locked in DeFi.

CoinDesk 20 Bitcoin Price Index

Finance

DeFi Studio Framework Labs Leaves Stealth Mode With $8M in Seed Funding

Framework Labs says it's already playing a key role in projects including Uniswap and Chainlink.

dollars

Tech

Polkadot-Based Acala Raises $7M as DeFi Grabs Land on Another Blockchain

Acala, a DeFi startup building on the Polkadot blockchain, has closed a $7 million simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT) led by Pantera Capital.

Fresh pastures (Francesco Ungaro/Unsplash)

Markets

First Mover: Monetary Challenges Aren't Just Virtual as Fed's Powell Returns to Jackson Hole

Crypto traders are prepping for a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where inflation is on the agenda.

View of Grand Tetons near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. (Wikipedia, modified by CoinDesk)

Markets

Market Wrap: Bitcoin Braces for $700M in Options to Expire; Record $7B Value Locked in DeFi

Bitcoin price is trending up while crypto keeps flooding into DeFi.

CoinDesk 20 Bitcoin Price Index