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

DeFi Risk Management Startup Cozy Finance Debuts With $2M Funding Round

Announced Thursday, Cozy Finance has raised a $2 million seed round, led by Electric Capital and including Variant Fund, Dragonfly Capital, Robot Ventures, Slow Ventures, Volt Capital, Spencer Noon, Moncada and others.

(Shutterstock)

Finance

For DeFi to Grow, CeFi Must Embrace It

Despite the buzz, DeFi is not on a good trajectory. It's too technical, too volatile and too "geeky" to be adopted by "the mainstream," William Mougayar writes.

(Marco Bianchetti/Unsplash)

Markets

Blockchain Bites: How SushiSwap Drove Uniswap to DeFi's Top Spot

A South Korean crypto exchange has been raided by police, Bitcoin's Lightning Network hit a new high and mining revenues are climbing.

(Luigi Pozzoli/Unsplash)

Markets

DeFi Flippening Comes to Exchanges as Uniswap Topples Coinbase in Trading Volume

Trading volumes are surging on Uniswap and other so-called decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges, challenging established venues like Coinbase.

Uniswap has become Ethereum's most prominent DEX.

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)

Tech

Yearn, YAM and the Rise of Crypto's 'Weird DeFi' Moment

What do these various memecoins do? Here's the rough TL;DR of the latest tokens to top the DeFi charts.

DeFi, Yield Farming, Yearn Finance, YFI

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