An Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Decentralized financial applications (DeFi) are a new breed of consumer-facing financial applications composed as smart contracts, deployed on permissionless blockchain technologies. In this article, we situate the DeFi concept in the theoretical context of permissionless blockchain technology and p...

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Main Authors: Johannes Rude Jensen, Victor von Wachter, Omri Ross
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Riga Technical University Press 2021-04-01
Series:Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly
Subjects:
Online Access:https://csimq-journals.rtu.lv/article/view/4728
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author Johannes Rude Jensen
Victor von Wachter
Omri Ross
author_facet Johannes Rude Jensen
Victor von Wachter
Omri Ross
author_sort Johannes Rude Jensen
collection DOAJ
description Decentralized financial applications (DeFi) are a new breed of consumer-facing financial applications composed as smart contracts, deployed on permissionless blockchain technologies. In this article, we situate the DeFi concept in the theoretical context of permissionless blockchain technology and provide a taxonomical overview of agents, incentives and risks. We examine the key market categories and use-cases for DeFi applications today and identify four key risk groups for potential stakeholders contemplating the advantages of decentralized financial applications. We contribute novel insights into a rapidly emerging field, with far-reaching implications for the financial services.
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spelling doaj-art-caaa0a6742e5485eadc2e5d0ce4c00532025-08-20T02:19:35ZengRiga Technical University PressComplex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly2255-99222021-04-01026465410.7250/csimq.2021-26.032513An Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi)Johannes Rude Jensen0Victor von Wachter1Omri Ross2Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen and eToroX Labs, CopenhagenDepartment of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, CopenhagenDepartment of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen and eToroX Labs, CopenhagenDecentralized financial applications (DeFi) are a new breed of consumer-facing financial applications composed as smart contracts, deployed on permissionless blockchain technologies. In this article, we situate the DeFi concept in the theoretical context of permissionless blockchain technology and provide a taxonomical overview of agents, incentives and risks. We examine the key market categories and use-cases for DeFi applications today and identify four key risk groups for potential stakeholders contemplating the advantages of decentralized financial applications. We contribute novel insights into a rapidly emerging field, with far-reaching implications for the financial services.https://csimq-journals.rtu.lv/article/view/4728blockchaindecentralized financedefismart contracts
spellingShingle Johannes Rude Jensen
Victor von Wachter
Omri Ross
An Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly
blockchain
decentralized finance
defi
smart contracts
title An Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
title_full An Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
title_fullStr An Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
title_full_unstemmed An Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
title_short An Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
title_sort introduction to decentralized finance defi
topic blockchain
decentralized finance
defi
smart contracts
url https://csimq-journals.rtu.lv/article/view/4728
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