What is DeFi?

In the past, centralized financial institutions have played a dominant role in the global economy. However, with the advent of blockchain technology and Decentralized Finance (DeFi), this is starting to change. DeFi offers a number of benefits over traditional banking systems, including transparency, security, and liquidity. Today, we will explore what DeFi is and some of its most popular projects. We will also look at the challenges that DeFi faces and how they can be overcome. Finally, we will discuss the different types of Decentralized Finance products that exist.

DeFi is built on the blockchain among smart contracts and enables users to interact with decentralized applications (dApps) in a variety of ways. With DeFi, there is no need for a middleman or third-party service provider. This not only makes transactions more secure but also reduces costs. Important to mention that it works 24/7/365. In addition, DeFi applications are generally open-source and community-driven, which allows for greater transparency.

DeFi Key Players

Liquidity Providers are one of the key players in DeFi. They provide liquidity to the protocol for swapping / lending assets, basically creating a market. In return, they earn a small fee from the transactions they facilitate.

DApps are also key players, built on smart contracts (pieces of code), they are the place where everything takes place. If they are user-friendly, well-audited, and well-developed on their backend, then they can turn into a perfect place to make things happen.

The blockchain network is also a key. If fees are low and transactions are fast, then they can provide a useful environment for letting DeFi happen.

Some challenges for DeFi

Although DeFi has many benefits, it also faces some challenges. One of the biggest challenges is scalability. Due to the high number of transactions that take place on the blockchain, transactions fees can be quite high, and make DeFi a bit complicated, this happened in the case of the Ethereum blockchain. Another challenge that DeFi faces is regulation. Because Decentralized Finance is a relatively new industry, it is not yet regulated by any central authority. This could change in the future, but for now, it is important to be aware of the risks involved in using DeFi products. Also, a big problem is there is a low incentive on being a liquidity provider due to earning the low amount of fees, compared to the loss they get from impermanent loss, which is caused due to market's volatility and the lost chance of swapping the assets on a high value in a bigger profit or getting them back with a lower value. All these problems are being little by little being treated and reaching better solutions.

Different types of DeFi products

There are a variety of different DeFi products that are available. Some of the most popular include:

• Prediction markets
• Derivatives
• DAO
• Insurance
• Yield farming
• Exchange and liquidity
• Borrowing and lending
• Stablecoins
• Marketplaces
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Decentralized Finance offers a number of benefits over traditional banking systems. It is important to be aware of the risks involved in using DeFi products, but the potential rewards are significant. Follow our next guides to learn more about DeFi!