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.


Policy

Security Firms Warn of Potential DeFi Exit Scam After $2.5M in 'Locked' Cryptos Moved

Two blockchain security firms have warned that the creators of a DeFi contract on the EOS network may have fled with users' funds.

(maxuser/Shutterstock)

Finance

DeFi Protocol Linear Finance Raises $1.8M in Seed Round

NGC Ventures, Hashed, CMS Holdings, Genesis Block and Kenetic Capital led the round.

(Shutterstock)

Markets

DeFi's Good, Bad and Ugly

Have we forgotten the ICO craze and how long it took to revitalize the crypto industry's image?

(Kelvin Zyteng/Unsplash)

Finance

DeFi Meets Universal Basic Income With Just-Launched Project From eToro

eToro's GoodDollar initiative will provide a universal basic income for some of the world's poorest by incentivizing people to yield farm on its platform.

EToro (CoinDesk Archives)

Videos

What Is Yield Farming? DeFi’s Hot Trend Explained

The world of decentralized finance (DeFi) has taken off, giving birth to Ethereum-based applications like yield farming and liquidity mining. CoinDesk Senior Research Analyst Galen Moore guides us through what all these concepts mean and how people are making money in DeFi.

CoinDesk placeholder image

Videos

What Is Yield Farming? DeFi's Hot Trend Explained

The world of decentralized finance (DeFi) has taken off, giving birth to Ethereum-based applications like yield farming and liquidity mining. CoinDesk Senior Research Analyst Galen Moore guides us through what all these concepts mean and how people are making money in DeFi.

Recent Videos

Markets

First Mover: SushiSwap's Billion-Dollar 'Rug Pull' Is Thriller to Crypto Geeks

The "SUSHI rug pull" is a gripping drama in the fast-moving arena of decentralized finance, which apparently is still limited to crypto geeks.

The SushiSwap saga appears to have more plot twists ahead. (George M. Groutas/Creative Commons, modified by CoinDesk)

Markets

DeFi Is Hot but Retail Interest Nowhere Close to ICO Frenzy

It may be too early to draw parallels between the DeFi explosion and the ICO bubble of two years ago.

Did someone say "bubble?"

Markets

Binance Unveils New Product for 'Yield Farming' Crypto Assets

Users of the new Launchpool will be able to stake Binance's tokens, as well as the ARPA token, for rewards in Bella (BEL).

Binance Logo.

Tech

Fishy Business: What Happened to $1.2B DeFi Protocol SushiSwap Over the Weekend

SushiSwap experienced a tumultuous weekend after its founder sold $13 million' worth of his stake in the project before turning the reigns over to investor and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

(Dbarak/Wikimedia Commons)