Tag: Decentralized Finance

Courses

Pages

Blog Posts

Uniswap is arguably the most popular decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Ethereum network, boasting over $2.7 billion in total value locked (TVL) at the time of this writing. To be more specific, Uniswap is an automated market maker (AMM). It allows anyone to swap ERC-20 tokens without having to find a buyer or seller on the other side of the trade.

One of the main draws of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin is that they are decentralized. However, at what point does crypto’s interoperability with the traditional financial system make it all part of the same centralized entity as legacy financial systems? As you will likely know, Bitcoin can be traded like a stock or share, and crypto exchanges are acting increasingly as traditional banks, so is crypto becoming centralized? Some signs are arguably pointing towards that. However, as this is going on, the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) is flourishing. So, what is the state of crypto - is it in risk of becoming centralized, or is crypto truly decentralized?

Those in cryptocurrency or blockchain circles will likely have heard of decentralized finance, commonly referred to as DeFi. The DeFi sector has grown hugely over the past few months and can be understood as a movement of projects that can substantially boost financial inclusion. This comes as “banking the unbanked” is a real challenge faced by people worldwide. Could the DeFi sector hold the keys to banking the unbanked? Some people certainly believe so.

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is an ERC-20 token with a 1:1 peg to Bitcoin. This means that users can seamlessly convert their Bitcoin tokens to a wrapped version and use them on the Ethereum blockchain. In essence, WBTC succeeds in bringing the liquidity of Bitcoin over to the Ethereum network. So, why should you care? Well, if you’re a Bitcoin hodler, you can now put your BTC to work on Ethereum in places like decentralized finance (DeFi).

The simplest way to describe Ren is that it’s a decentralized interoperability protocol. What it means for decentralized finance (DeFi) is that permission-less value transfers between blockchains can now take place. This is huge where the subject of liquidity is concerned because Bitcoin hodlers can move their BTC over to the Ethereum blockchain to participate in things like DeFi.

Harvest Finance is an automated yield farming protocol created for users looking to put their assets to work in high producing farming opportunities. Harvest will best appeal to those who can’t manage their decentralized finance (DeFi) positions 24/7 - which is most of us.

OpenZeppelin is a security operations platform with countless security best practice features already built into it. Specifically, it describes itself as an open-source framework for building secure smart contracts, meant to simplify the process of building smart contracts. Practically speaking, this means that smart contract developers on Ethereum can ship their products faster, whilst also minimizing security risks.

The bZx Protocol is a Ethereum-based DeFi lending protocol which users can borrow, lend, and margin trade without relying on third parties. In the past, margin traders had to use centralized exchanges (CEXs). And while decentralized exchanges (DEXs) can have vulnerabilities, CEXs have many weak points that can be exploited.