DeFi

How it is used

Used as a noun (DeFi is growing) and before nouns: DeFi protocol, DeFi app, DeFi user, DeFi hack. Total value locked (TVL) is the usual measure of a DeFi protocol's size. The contrast is with traditional finance (TradFi) and with crypto companies that hold users' funds (CeFi).

Example sentences

1. Most DeFi protocols publish their code so that anyone can check it.

2. She left a bank job to work on risk management for a DeFi lending platform.

Common collocations

• DeFi protocol
• DeFi platform
• DeFi lending
• DeFi user
• total value locked

Related terms

• decentralizedNot controlled by one company, server or person. In a decentralized system, many independent participants share control and keep the network running together.
• liquidity poolA smart contract that holds two or more tokens which traders can swap against. Users who deposit tokens into it earn a share of the trading fees.
• decentralized exchangeAn exchange that runs on smart contracts, letting users trade directly from their own wallets without handing their funds to a company. Often shortened to DEX.
• yield farmingMoving crypto between DeFi protocols, for example by providing liquidity or lending, to earn rewards that are often paid in the protocols' own tokens.
• smart contractA program stored on a blockchain that runs automatically when certain conditions are met. Once deployed it usually cannot be changed, and it can hold and move funds without a middleman.

More terms: DeFi & NFTs

• NFT
• collateral
• automated market maker