Understanding Defi

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a rapidly growing field in fintech, having grown from $700 million to $100 billion over the past three years alone. But the lack of reliable information makes this area both risky and murky. In this practical book, experienced securities attorney Alexandra Damsker explains DeFi's role in both blockchain and finance. Ideal for developers looking to build decentralized applications (DApps), this book compares DeFi to traditional bank-led fintech and explains why DeFi is exploding in interest and popularity. You'll explore the growing array of DApps and platforms in various categories, including their benefits and drawbacks, and learn how DeFi tools work together from the perspective of both users and developers. With this book, you will: Learn how DeFi fits into the blockchain and fintech worlds Understand why it's important to move beyond the banking system Explore the tools for building a useful, functional DeFi application Learn the risks, benefits, regulatory concerns, and unresolved issues in this nascent and fast-growing industry See which technologies are well-positioned to be incorporated into DeFi blockchains in the near future Assess your own risk level to determine which strategies are most appropriate

Decentralized finance (commonly referred to as DeFi) is a blockchain- based form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries such as brokerages or banks to offer traditional financial instruments. Instead, it utilizes smart contracts on blockchains, the most common being Ethereum. With this report you will learn how to utilize this new technology in your business. Topics covered: DeFi Explained The Rise of DeFi DeFi's Top Applications The True Power of DeFi The Downsides to DeFi The Future of DeFi

Understanding Decentralized Finance demystifies DeFi, locating the integration points between decentralized and centralized finance to help finance professionals unlock valuable opportunities. DeFi - the next evolution of cryptocurrency - has brought a new wave of investors into the world of finance. As fintechs and financial institutions seek to integrate with DeFi, this book explores its history, its present context, and its future. It explains the world of DeFi by comparing it to the traditional finance sector, highlighting points of similarity, difference and integration. Understanding Decentralized Finance explores the technologies underlying the DeFi market and how they differ from those of traditional financial markets. It scrutinizes the difference between centralized and decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges, how NFTs fit into DeFi and how collectibles can be financialized. Readers will also find out how collateralized loans, derivatives, margin trading and liquidity provision work in a world where there is no centralized institution to coordinate these activities - and how regulators in different jurisdictions are ensuring that financial regulations keep up with these innovations. With examples from key actors in the field, including the movement of luxury organizations like Christie's and Sotheby's into the NFT space and the SushiSwap vampire attack, this is an essential read for anyone working in finance, fintech and technology who needs to understand the fast-moving world of DeFi.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a rapidly growing field in fintech, having grown from $700 million to $100 billion over the past three years alone. But the lack of reliable information makes this area both risky and murky. In this practical book, experienced securities attorney Alexandra Damsker explains DeFi's role in both blockchain and finance. Ideal for developers looking to build decentralized applications (DApps), this book compares DeFi to traditional bank-led fintech and explains why DeFi is exploding in interest and popularity. You'll explore the growing array of DApps and platforms in various categories, including their benefits and drawbacks, and learn how DeFi tools work together from the perspective of both users and developers. With this book, you will: Learn how DeFi fits into the blockchain and fintech worlds Understand why it's important to move beyond the banking system Explore the tools for building a useful, functional DeFi application Learn the risks, benefits, regulatory concerns, and unresolved issues in this nascent and fast-growing industry See which technologies are well-positioned to be incorporated into DeFi blockchains in the near future Assess your own risk level to determine which strategies are most appropriate

"This book details the new economies created by a generation of bankless pioneers. It's the best introduction you could ask for." - Mariano Conti, Head of Smart Contracts at Maker Foundation "If I didn't know anything about DeFi and needed to learn from scratch, this book is where I'd start." - Felix Feng, CEO of TokenSets “This book makes it easy for beginners to get started with DeFi.” - Hugh Karp, CEO of Nexus Mutual How to DeFi: Beginner, Second Edition, is the 2021 updated version of How to DeFi (March 2020). DeFi is an ecosystem of decentralized applications that provide financial services built on top of distributed networks with no governing authority. By April 2021, DeFi applications have locked up over $86 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in smart contracts. DeFi is expected to grow further in the coming years and is a key component in fulfilling Ethereum’s lofty vision and ambition. You will learn about the various elements of DeFi such as decentralized stablecoins, decentralized exchanges, decentralized lending, decentralized derivatives, decentralized insurance and more. DeFi has been immensely popular throughout 2019 to 2021 and is showing no signs of slowing down. Use this book to stay ahead of the curve and learn how you can utilize various DeFi applications to better understand the changes that will disrupt the traditional financial sector. In this book, you will discover: - What is DeFi and their differences with traditional finance - What is Ethereum and its role in DeFi - Step-by-step guides in using the various DeFi applications - Real-life use cases of DeFi and how you too can earn from opportunities within the space With simple, yet concise explanations and guides, it has never been easier for you to understand and get started with the various DeFi applications.

"Education is paramount in DeFi and resources such as How to DeFi are so important. Not only is this an excellent sequel, but once again, the team at CoinGecko have managed to provide a comprehensive and in-depth overview of an ever changing space” – Ganesh Swami, CEO of Covalent "This book comes as an excellent follow-up to their first book, and provides a deeper dive into DeFi and on how to navigate the nuances in the space.” – Jocelyn Chang, APAC Growth Lead, MakerDAO Growth Core Unit “How To DeFi will help you make life-changing decisions when building and using DeFi protocols and applications of this decade.” – Molly Wintermute, Founder of Hegic Decentralized Finance’s (DeFi) mission is clear: reinventing traditional finance's infrastructure and interface with greater transparency, accessibility, efficiency, convenience, and interoperability. By April 2021, there has been over $86 billion worth of cryptocurrencies locked up in the DeFi applications, 86 times larger than a year ago. The traditional financial industry is getting rapidly disrupted and DeFi is reshaping the way global financial systems operate. In this book, you will learn about various decentralized financial primitives, such as stablecoins, exchanges, lending, insurance, derivatives, and more. DeFi has already existed since 2018, but it has recently witnessed a surge in popularity in the first half of 2021 with no ceiling in sight. Use this book to gain insight into the novel financial innovations enabled by DeFi. Join us in this exciting adventure of redefining finance. In this book, you will discover: - What is DeFi and the key categories within it - An insider’s look at how to evaluate various DeFi protocols - Services that empower the DeFi ecosystem: Oracles and Data Aggregators - Multichain bridges that seamlessly connect and move funds between blockchains - Causes of DeFi exploits and how can you avoid them

"This is an excellent resource for anyone who wants a comprehensive introduction to DeFi."- Kain Warwick, Founder of Synthetix"If I didn't know anything about DeFi and needed to learn from scratch, this book is where I'd start."- Felix Feng, CEO of TokenSets"This book details the new economies created by a generation of bankless pioneers. It's the best introduction you could ask for."- Mariano Conti, Head of Smart Contracts at Maker FoundationDecentralized Finance (DeFi) is an ecosystem of decentralized applications that provide financial services built on top of distributed networks with no governing authority. At the time of writing (March 2020), DeFi applications have locked up over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in smart contracts. DeFi is expected to grow further in the coming years and is a key component in fulfilling Ethereum's lofty vision and ambition. You will learn about the various elements of DeFi such as decentralized stablecoins, decentralized exchanges, decentralized lending, decentralized derivatives, decentralized insurance and more.DeFi has been immensely popular throughout 2019 and 2020 and is showing no signs of slowing down. Use this book to stay ahead of the curve and learn how you can utilize various DeFi applications to better understand the changes that will disrupt the traditional financial sector.In this book, you will discover: - What is DeFi and their differences with traditional finance- What is Ethereum and its role in DeFi- Step-by-step guides in using the various DeFi applications- Real-life use cases of DeFi and how you too can earn from opportunities within the spaceWith simple, yet concise explanations and guides, it has never been easier for you to understand and get started with the various DeFi applications

During the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, our financial infrastructure failed. Governments bailed out the very institutions that let the economy down. This episode spurred a serious rethink of our financial system. Does it make any sense that it takes two days to settle a stock transaction? Why do retailers, operating on razor thin margins, have to pay 3% for every customer credit card swipe? Why does it take two days to transfer money from a bank account to a brokerage—or any other company? Why are savings rates miniscule or negative? Why is it so difficult for entrepreneurs to get financing at traditional banks? In DeFi and the Future of Finance, Campbell R. Harvey, Ashwin Ramachandran and Joey Santoro, introduce the new world of Decentralized Finance. The book argues that the current financial landscape is ripe for disruption and we are seeing, in real time, the reinvention of finance. The authors provide the reader with a clear assessment of the problems with the current financial system and how DeFi solves many of these problems. The essence of DeFi is that we interact with peers—there is no brick and mortar and all of the associated costs. Savings and lending are reinvented. Trading takes place with algorithms far removed from traditional brokerages. The book conducts a deep dive on some of the most innovative protocols such as Uniswap and Compound. Many of the companies featured in the book you might not have heard of—however, you will in the future. As with any new technology, there are a myriad of risks and the authors carefully catalogue these risks and assess which ones can be successfully mitigated. Ideally suited for people working in any part of the finance industry as well as financial policy makers, DeFi and the Future of Finance gives readers a vision of the future. The world of finance will fundamentally be changed over the coming decade. The book enables you to become part of the disruption – not the target of the disruption.