DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
Decentralized finance — financial services without banks or intermediaries.
DeFi (Decentralized Finance) is an ecosystem of financial applications built on blockchain that operate without banks, exchanges, or other intermediaries. Everything happens through smart contracts that execute automatically.
Main DeFi services:
•DEX (decentralized exchanges) — Uniswap, Curve
•Lending/Borrowing — borrowing crypto without a bank (Aave, Compound)
•Yield farming — earning through providing liquidity
•Stablecoins — DAI, FRAX
•Liquid staking — stETH (Lido)
DeFi enables access to financial services for anyone, without KYC or permissions. Risks: smart contract bugs, rugpull, extreme volatility.