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

21Shares Introduces Exchange-Traded Product for Liquid Staking Platform Lido DAO

While the product offers investors single asset exposure to the liquid staking leader, the Switzerland-based firm classified it as a class 7 risk, the highest level.

Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder, co-founders of 21Shares parent 21.co (21.co)

Videos

CFTC Wins Lawsuit Against Ooki DAO

A federal judge has sided with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in a lawsuit alleging decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) Ooki DAO offered unregistered commodities. CoinDesk's Nikhilesh De discusses what this means for other DAOs and decentralized finance (DeFi) actors in the industry.

Recent Videos

Videos

Curve Finance CEO Egorov Sued by 3 DeFi-Focused Venture Capital Firms

Michael Egorov, the CEO of decentralized finance (DeFi) firm Curve Finance, is being sued for fraud by venture capital firms ParaFi Capital, Framework Ventures, and 1kx. A complaint filed in the Superior Court of California, San Francisco, alleges Egorov misappropriated trade secrets of the three VC firms, and defrauded the firms out of close to $1 million in funds. "The Hash" panel weighs in on the lawsuit against Egorov and what this means for the exchange.

Recent Videos

Consensus Magazine

Defiant by Default: Why Regulators Must Understand, Not Police, DeFi

Consensus 2023 visitors discussed DeFi's growth, its need to comply with regulations, and the challenges of balancing crypto-native concepts with traditional finance requirements.

Waymaker LLP parter Brian Klein and Chamber of Digital Commerce CEO Perianne Boring discuss the future of DeFi regulation at Consensus 2023. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Policy

Cardano Developer Rejects SEC Claim Its ADA Token Is a Security

“Under no circumstances is ADA a security under U.S. securities laws,” IOG said in a release.

Photo of the SEC logo on a building wall

Markets

Vitalik Buterin’s Shiba Inu Donations to Power New Round of India Covid Relief Funds

Buterin said the new donation would work toward reducing the long-term impact of coronavirus.

Vitalik Buterin at EthCC in Paris (Lyllah Ledesma for CoinDesk)

Consensus Magazine

Are DAOs Doomed to ‘Decentralization Theater’?

Consensus 2023 guests shared their concerns over 'decentralization theater' in DeFi projects, emphasizing the importance of genuine decentralization in the development of the Web3 ecosystem

CoinDesk Web3 reporter Cam Thompson hosted the "Consumer Web3 Is Having Its Moment" event at Consensus 2023. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Tech

Polygon Spinoff Avail Network Starts Phase 2 of Its Testnet

This second phase will include a more thorough testing environment to encourage validator participation.

(Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)

Markets

DeFi Protocol Curve Finance Now Lets Users Mint crvUSD for Staked Ether

The governance proposal for the crvUSD minting was passed early on Thursday.

(vlastas/iStock)

Markets

DeFi Unfazed by SEC's Classification of Tokens as Securities

These forces will likely only drive “more financial activity to DeFi,” one trader said.

(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)