DeFi: Decentralized Finance - An Introduction and Overview

Modern Economy, 2021

2022

This report prepared by the team leading the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, offers a comprehensive review of the fast-evolving blockchain innovation of Decentralizing Finance, which can be considered as a subset of FinTech. The report studies the similarities and differences of DeFi and traditional or conventional finance (TradFi) in four (4) main areas: Intrinsic characteristics, functional differences, operational differences and the regulatory landscape. This report has been produced by the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum Experts Panel and team. EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum team: • George Giaglis, Lambis Dionysopoulos, Marianna Charalambous, Aliki Ntouzgou, University of Nicosia; • Nikos Kostopoulos, Tonia Damvakeraki, Netcompany-Intrasoft • Alexi Anania, Íñigo Moré, Marcin Pawłowski, Matthew Niemerg, Amit Joshi, Miquel Gouarré Baró, Iwona Karasek-Wojciechowicz, Stefan Loesch, Daniel Szegö, EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum Expert Panel. Special thanks to Jacek Czarnecki, Global Legal Counsel at MakerDAO for his insightful interview.

Finance and Economics Discussion Series

Decentralized finance (DeFi) refers to a set of newly emerging financial products and services that operate on decentralized platforms using blockchains to record and share data. DeFi products and services are conducted without a trusted central intermediary such as a bank, and they include payments, lending and borrowing, trading and investments, capital raising (crowdfunding), and insurance. An important innovation that allowed for the development of DeFi was the growth of programming capability on blockchains. This innovation allows for the creation of computer code called smart contracts that can be invoked by users without going through a centralized intermediary. DeFi may pose financial stability risks, that are exacerbated by the fact that both are currently largely outside the prudential regulatory perimeter, which we discuss.

International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET), 2023

Currently, in the world there is a growing interest in the digital economy including the blockchain technology. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is one of the leading current blockchain technology-related trends. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is the (r)evolutionary movement to create a solely code-based, intermediary-independent financial system-a movement which has grown from $4bn to $104bn in assets locked in the last threeyears.Our paper is a p2p blockchain lending service. Using this application, people would be able to take loans on the blockchains. That means they can essentially lock up certain assets and borrow other cryptocurrencies and then pay back later after a certain amount of time.

2024

The intricate interplay between the realm of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and the well-established domain of traditional banking constitutes a captivating narrative of convergence, divergence, and potential collaboration. This paper embarks on a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted interactions between these two financial landscapes, seeking to decipher whether they are destined for convergence or if their collision is inevitable. Decentralized Finance, or DeFi, represents a paradigm shift in the financial sector. Empowered by blockchain technology and smart contracts, DeFi platforms offer innovative solutions for lending, borrowing, trading, and more. Meanwhile, traditional banking, with its longstanding institutional framework, has served as the cornerstone of financial services. However, the emergence of DeFi has challenged the established norms, questioning the necessity of intermediaries and centralization. The convergence hypothesis suggests a future where DeFi and traditional banking coalesce, fusing the innovation and accessibility of DeFi with the stability and regulatory oversight of traditional banking. This path envisions traditional financial institutions adopting DeFi technologies to streamline operations and enhance efficiency, ultimately benefiting consumers with faster, cheaper, and more inclusive services. Conversely, the collision theory posits that the inherent differences between DeFi and traditional banking-decentralization vs. centralization, innovation vs. regulation-will lead to clashes that hinder harmonious integration. Regulatory challenges, legal uncertainties surrounding smart contracts, and the potential for market disruptions www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eprd

Journal of Banking and Financial Technology

AJIL Unbound

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is an ecosystem of financial applications that are built on top of blockchain networks. DeFi aims to create an open-source, permissionless, and transparent financial system that operates without any central authority. Instead, a smart contract—which is a self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement between transacting parties written into lines of code—replaces financial institutions in the transaction. As a result, DeFi is available to everyone with reliable access to electricity and Internet connectivity. It also serves as a form of non-custodial finance since users maintain full control of their assets and transact through smart contract programs that facilitate peer-to-peer interactions. While DeFi presents huge opportunities, it also poses significant risks to traditional finance ecosystems, including the use of stablecoins and the absence of a know-your-customer framework. This essay argues that for DeFi to secure credibility, it needs t...

Academia Environmental Sciences and Sustainability, 2023

Access to clean water and adequate sanitation improve sound health, enhance socio cultural development and promote economic balance. This study focuses on the investigating the challenges and opportunities to achieve SDG 6 by 2030: a case study in Benin City, Nigeria. Three local government areas in Benin city (Egor, Ikpoba-okha and Oredo) were selected for this study. The survey involved the use of 150 structured questionnaires administered to the people from the LGAs. 127 responses were received and processed for analysis. The data was analysed using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 27.0) software application. The results of the research have showed that, Although the Federal Government has put in measure like the NAP to ensure that the objective of SDG 6.1 and 6.2 are achieved. However, the findings of the study have showed that there is still problem of Accessibility, Acceptability, Availability, Affordability and of good quality. 78% of the respondents indicated to spend over 2000 naira monthly on water while 86% indicated to pay extra changes to acquire water. 48.8% residents have to cover long distant of 3km in other to get water. 61.4% found water not to be safe for drinking while 84.3% indicated that the quality of water and sanitation in public places are of bad quality. 63.8% indicated to have challenges to availability of water and sanitation. A large percent of the residents indicated to have felt discriminated regarding water and sanitation because of their socio level. However, the study found lack of water and sanitation to be gender neutral as both men and women to be affected. Keywords: challenges, clean water, facilities, opportunities and sanitation.

Academia Biology, 2023

This article reviews the mechanical bidomain model, a mathematical description of how the extracellular matrix and intracellular cytoskeleton of cardiac tissue are coupled by integrin membrane proteins. The fundamental hypothesis is that the difference between the intracellular and extracellular displacements drives mechanotransduction. A one-dimensional example illustrates the model, which is then extended to two or three dimensions. In a few cases, the bidomain equations can be solved analytically, demonstrating how tissue motion can be divided into two parts: monodomain displacements that are the same in both spaces and therefore do not contribute to mechanotransduction, and bidomain displacements that cause mechanotransduction. The model contains a length constant that depends on the intracellular and extracellular shear moduli and the integrin spring constant. Bidomain effects often occur within a few length constants of the tissue edge. Unequal anisotropy ratios in the intra- and extracellular spaces can modulate mechanotransduction. Insight into model predictions is supplied by simple analytical examples, such as the shearing of a slab of cardiac tissue or the contraction of a tissue sheet. Computational methods for solving the model equations are described, and precursors to the model are reviewed. Potential applications are discussed, such as predicting growth and remodeling in the diseased heart, analyzing stretch-induced arrhythmias, modeling shear forces in a vessel caused by blood flow, examining the role of mechanical forces in engineered sheets of tissue, studying differentiation in colonies of stem cells, and characterizing the response to localized forces applied to nanoparticles.

IPPR Progressive Review, 2017

Why does it seem easier to imagine the end of the world than to see the end of capitalism? Part of the answer turns on a rift between radical economic and ecological thought.