DeFi or Decentralised Finance is the disintermediation of traditional finance, using cryptographically secured protocols to ensure the execution of financial transactions erected by predefined rules.
DeFi refers to a system by which software written on blockchains makes it possible for buyers, sellers, lenders, and borrowers to interact peer to peer or with a strictly software-based middleman rather than a company or institution facilitating a transaction.
Compared to Centralized Finance, DeFi will always have a lower cost of capital for operations which relies on frictionless automated processes.
Functionalities
Decentralized exchanges (DEXs)
Online exchanges help users exchange currencies for other currencies, whether U.S. dollars for bitcoin or ether for DAI. DEXs are a hot type of exchange, which connects users directly so they can trade cryptocurrencies with one another without trusting an intermediary with their money
Stablecoins
A cryptocurrency that's tied to an asset outside of cryptocurrency (the dollar or
euro, for example) to stabilize the price
Lending platforms
These platforms use smart contracts to replace intermediaries such as
banks that manage lending in the middle
"Wrapped" bitcoin (WBTC)
A way of sending bitcoin to the Ethereum network so the bitcoin can be used directly in Ethereum's DeFi system. WBTCs allow users to earn interest
on the bitcoin they lend out via the decentralized lending platforms described above
Prediction markets
Markets for betting on the outcome of future events, such as elections. The goal of DeFi versions of prediction markets is to offer the same functionality but without intermediaries
A complete list of the DeFi Tokens we offer can be found here
