The Benefits of Decentralized Finance
Decentralized finance—often called DeFi—refers to the shift from traditional, centralized financial systems to peer-to-peer finance enabled by decentralized exchange technologies built on the Ethereum blockchain.
DeFi applications are open to anyone with an Internet connection, often eliminating the need for intermediaries like banks, brokers, and exchanges. By deploying immutable intelligent contracts on Ethereum, DeFi developers can launch financial protocols and platforms that run exactly as programmed and are available to anyone with an Internet connection.
The breakthrough of DeFi is that crypto assets can now be used in ways not possible with fiat or “real world” assets. These are just a few of the innovative applications made possible by Ethereum’s decentralized infrastructure, decentralised exchanges, synthetic assets, and flash loans.
The comprehensive list of benefits below outlines why DeFi is so essential for the future of finance:
- Openness: DeFi applications are built on open protocols that anyone can access.
- Interoperability: DeFi protocols are designed to work together, enabling various financial applications and use cases.
- Composability: DeFi applications can be built on top of other
Decentralized finance is more transparent and efficient
Decentralized finance—called DeFi—refers to the movement of financial applications and services from centralized systems to decentralized protocols built on Ethereum. From lending and borrowing platforms to stablecoins and tokenized BTC, the DeFi ecosystem has launched an expansive network of integrated protocols that are changing how we interact with financial services.
One of the primary advantages of DeFi is that it is built on Ethereum, a decentralized network with a globally accessible infrastructure. This infrastructure enables anyone with an internet connection to access DeFi applications and services without intermediaries.
By eliminating the need for centralized custodians, DeFi protocols are able to offer their services without the traditional friction points associated with centralized financial institutions.
In addition to being more accessible, DeFi protocols are also often more transparent than their centralized counterparts. By leveraging Ethereum’s decentralized infrastructure, DeFi protocols can offer users more transparency about the underlying code and transaction data.
This increased transparency can build trust between users and protocols and provide valuable insights into the inner workings of the DeFi ecosystem.
Decentralized finance allows for better risk management.
Decentralized finance—often called DeFi—refers to the shift from traditional, centralized financial systems to peer-to-peer finance enabled by decentralized technologies built on the Ethereum blockchain. From lending and borrowing platforms to stablecoins and tokenized BTC, the DeFi ecosystem has launched an expansive network of integrated protocols and financial instruments.
By deploying immutable intelligent contracts on Ethereum, DeFi developers can launch financial protocols and platforms that run exactly as programmed and are available to anyone with an Internet connection.
The breakthrough of DeFi is that crypto assets can now be used in ways not possible with fiat or “real world” assets. Decentralized exchanges, synthetic assets, and flash loans are novel applications that can only exist on blockchains. This paradigm shift in financial infrastructure presents several advantages to risk management.
DeFi applications are built on Ethereum; they benefit from the security of the Ethereum network. The Ethereum network is the most active and secure blockchain in the world, with a large and growing ecosystem of developers and users. This network effect strongly incentivises attackers to target other blockchains rather than Ethereum.
Decentralized finance is more resilient to shocks.
Decentralized finance is more resilient to shocks than centralized finance. This is because decentralized finance is not reliant on any one central point of failure.
If one component of a decentralized finance system fails, the rest can continue to function. This is not the case with centralized finance, where a single point of failure can bring down the entire system.
