What is DeFi?- A Beginner’s Guide

DeFi – short for “Decentralized Finance” – is a blockchain-driven alternative to traditional financial services. In the world of DeFi, financial products, such as loans and investments, are delivered exclusively through decentralized digital assets and smart contracts that are open source, accessible and transparent.

As of January 2023, more than 6.5 million people worldwide are using DeFi for their financial endeavors.

It is because DeFi promises to transform traditional banking into a global, open financial system with lower fees, faster settlements, and higher security by separating finance from traditional institutions like central banks and Wall Street corporations.

In this guide to DeFi, we’ll cover the basics of decentralized finance technology, how it works, and why FinTechs and neo banks use it. We’ll also look at key players within the DeFi ecosystem and explain popular examples of blockchain finance platforms that are revolutionizing the industry.

Let’s start by understanding the difference between DeFi and its counterpart CeFi (Centralized Finance).

DeFi vs. CeFi

Before we jump on differentiating these financial systems, let’s first understand what CeFi is.

CeFi, aka centralized finance, is a financial system based on interactions between central financial institutions, such as banks and governments. This system requires customers to obtain authorization from these institutions to access services such as borrowing money, trading assets, and transferring funds. The centralized structure of this system grants the central authority unprecedented oversight and control over the user’s financial activities.

Both financial systems have their advantages and disadvantages. Let’s understand them in the form of differences. Following are the key differentiators between DeFi and CeFi:

• Trust: DeFi transactions rely entirely on trustless protocols and smart contracts, while traditional financial transactions are based on trust in centralized third-party entities such as banks and government agencies.
• Accessibility: DeFi is universally accessible to everyone with an internet connection, while centralized finance requires authorization from financial institutions in order to access it.
• Transparency: All DeFi transactions are viewable on the blockchain, providing complete system visibility. In contrast, traditional finance is opaque, and users lack transparency over what happens behind closed doors.
• Security: Because there are no single points of failure in DeFi platforms, blockchain finance is considered much more secure than traditional systems. On the other hand, centralized networks can be vulnerable to hacking and theft.
• Speed: Transactions with DeFi platforms tend to be near-instantaneous as compared to traditional finance, which can take days to complete.
• Fees: DeFi works on a fee model, where users have to pay a fee for each transaction. On the other hand, traditional financial institutions usually have various hidden charges that add up over time.

DeFi Use Cases

The following are the most popular use cases of DeFi in 2023:

• Decentralized Exchanges (DEX): These exchanges enable users to trade cryptocurrencies in a secure, peer-to-peer manner with no need for a custodian or third-party intermediary. A notable example of a DEX algorithm is “Uniswap.”
• Decentralized Lending Platforms (DLPs): DLPs allow users to access loans and other credit-like services without having to go through a traditional banking institution. Examples of such platforms include Aave, Compound, and MakerDAO.
• Insurance Platforms: Insurance protocols such as Nexus Mutual enable users to purchase insurance on assets and financial products within the DeFi ecosystem with ETH-based tokens as collateral.
• Stablecoins: Stablecoins are digital assets whose value is pegged to that of an off-chain asset, like fiat currencies or gold, in order to reduce volatility during market fluctuations. Examples include Tether (USDT) and USDC.
• Prediction Markets: Prediction markets operate on decentralized networks where users can bet on the outcome of future events using tokens as collateral or rewards for correct predictions. Augur is one such platform that allows people to bet on anything from sports betting to elections or even the weather!

Risks Involved in Decentralized Finance

The most common risks involved in DeFi are the following:

Market Risks

The decentralized nature of the DeFi market means that prices can be volatile and unpredictable, leading to potential losses for investors and traders. Market risk is a significant factor for any investor and should be considered before investing in any DeFi asset.

Counterparty Risk

Counterparty risk stems from the possibility of the counterparty (the person or institution you’re trading with) defaulting on their obligations. DeFi protocols generally use smart contracts to mitigate these risks, but they are still a possible concern if something goes wrong with the protocol itself.

One such incident happened with MakerDAO, which experienced counterparty risk due to a malicious actor exploiting a bug in their code that allowed them to acquire a large amount of DAI stablecoin without putting up any collateral. This resulted in a significant monetary loss for some users and put the entire system’s trustworthiness into question, as well as necessitating an emergency hard fork of the project’s codebase to fix the bug and prevent further exploitation.

Regulatory Risk

The DeFi space is still very new and nascent, meaning it is largely unregulated. This can mean that investors may not always have recourse if something goes wrong or fraudulent activity occurs on a platform or network.

Security Risk

Security risk is always a concern when it comes to cryptocurrencies, as there are no guarantees or protections in place against malicious actors or hackers attempting to steal funds from users’ accounts. Users should always ensure they employ the best practices, such as enabling two-factor authentication and regularly auditing their accounts to ensure safety.

Then How Can You Leverage DeFi Safely?

Given multitude of risks involved with DeFi, you might wonder how can you make sure you’re doing it the best way?

Here is how you can enter into the world of decentralized finance safely:

• Research: Before considering any DeFi investment, it is important to conduct thorough research into the project to understand its risks. This includes researching the team behind the project, reading whitepapers and other documents outlining how the platform works, and keeping up with news about the project. You can refer to TechCrunch, The Next Web, Bloomberg, and many such blogs to stay in tune with the latest advancements in DeFi.
• Diversify: Diversifying your investments is key when it comes to DeFi. It is important to spread out your investments across multiple projects, as this will help minimize your risk exposure in case of any potential issues or hacks that may occur on one platform.
• Secure: When setting up a DeFi wallet or account, make sure that you are using a secure password and two-factor authentication (2FA) for extra security measures. Additionally, ensure that you only send funds from secure wallets that you trust and understand fully how they work.
• Audit: Make sure to check if any of the projects you are investing in have been audited by a third-party security firm. This will help to ensure that the code behind the project is secure and free from any vulnerabilities.
• Monitor: Regularly monitor your DeFi investments and stay up-to-date with news about the projects you are invested in. This will help you spot any potential issues early and make sure you are taking appropriate action to protect your funds.

DeFi is the Future

Investing in DeFi projects is becoming increasingly popular and can offer a great way to gain exposure to the larger cryptocurrency markets. However, to protect your funds, it is important to practice good security measures, such as ensuring your private keys are stored securely and only sending funds from secure wallets you trust.

Additionally, make sure to audit any projects you are planning on investing in, monitor your investments regularly, and stay informed about news and updates regarding the project.