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

Most of MakerDAO's Asset Value Is in Only a Few Addresses

Though the industry is growing rapidly, a very small portion of addresses hold the majority of assets being locked and borrowed in the DeFi space.

DeFi's concentrated assets. Credit: Shutterstock

Markets

BlockFi Adjusts Interest Rates to Lure Larger Crypto Deposits

BlockFi recently announced it would make changes to the interest they pay for bitcoin and ether deposits.

BlockFi CEO Zac Prince

Markets

CoinDesk Q4 2019 Review: A Year in Suspended Animation

The CoinDesk Quarterly Review surfaces the key data, trends and events shaping the crypto markets. Check it out now.

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Markets

Tyrone Ross on Why Financial Advisors Are Taking Notice of DeFi

Financial advisor and crypto advocate Tyrone Ross joins for hot takes on financial advisors, DeFi and the most important company in crypto.

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Finance

2019's DeFi Boom Raises New Questions for Tax Filing Season

A number of startups are now trying to help retail investors make sense of the tax implications of decentralized finance.

TaxBit co-founders Justin and Austin Woodward

Markets

Why Crypto's 'Rogue State' Narrative Is a Risk to the Industry

From a North Korean blockchain conference to a sanctions-evading crypto hedge fund, does this type of activity present a narrative risk to the crypto industry as a whole?

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Markets

Traders Turn to DeFi to Capitalize on Tuesday's Crypto Market Spike

Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications are popping off Tuesday, and the ETH price spike isn't the whole story.

Balloons image via Shutterstock

Finance

MakerDAO Pitches DeFi to the Masses at CES 2020

There's a "digital money" section on the show floor of this year's CES. MakerDAO's DAI is the only crypto with a booth.

CoinDesk:Distributed 2020 – Foundations Track

Tech

Store of Value Remains Crypto’s Best Use Case

Store of value was the most viable and desirable use case across crypto in 2019 and offers a basis to increase adoption in the second decade of crypto, says Ryan Zurrer of Dialectic.

Ryan Zurrer image via CoinDesk archives

Tech

Compared to Gaming and Gambling Dapps, DeFi Is Still Behind

A closer look at the data shows that decentralized applications are struggling to gain traction, and DeFi is not the main use case.

dapp users by category