DeFi
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
| Stands for | Decentralized finance |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
DeFi stands for Decentralized finance, a cryptocurrency & blockchain abbreviation.
Financial services such as lending, borrowing, trading, derivatives and savings provided by smart contracts on public blockchains, without banks or brokers as intermediaries. Users connect a crypto wallet directly to protocols such as Uniswap, Aave and MakerDAO.
Example: He earned 5 percent on his stablecoins in a DeFi lending pool, but the smart-contract risk worried him.
Usage notes
The term caught on around 2018 and exploded during "DeFi summer" 2020, when yield farming drew billions of dollars into protocols. Open, composable contracts allow fast innovation but expose users to bugs, hacks, oracle manipulation and scams, and billions have been lost to exploits. Regulators continue to debate how securities and banking rules apply. Pronounced "dee-fye".
Related abbreviations
More cryptocurrency & blockchain abbreviations
- CDP – Collateralized debt position
- CeFi – Centralized finance
- CEX – Centralized exchange
- DAO – Decentralized autonomous organization
- DApp – Decentralized application
- DCA – Dollar-cost averaging
- DePIN – Decentralized physical infrastructure networks
- DEX – Decentralized exchange
- DLT – Distributed ledger technology
- DOGE – Dogecoin
- DOT – Polkadot
- DPoS – Delegated proof of stake