Decentralised finance (DeFi)

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Financial services without banks: lending, earning interest, taking out insurance – all on the blockchain. Still highly risky and unregulated. Not for beginners.

DeFi (decentralised finance) tries to rebuild the traditional financial system on the blockchain – without banks, without intermediaries.

What DeFi offers:

• Lending/borrowing: lend crypto and earn interest (5–20%+) or take out crypto loans
• Decentralised exchanges (DEX): swap crypto without a central exchange (Uniswap, PancakeSwap)
• Staking: "lock up" crypto to secure the network and earn interest
• Stablecoins: cryptos pegged to the dollar/euro (USDC, DAI)

Risks (HUGE!):

❌ Smart contract bugs: code errors can wipe out billions (Ronin Bridge hack: $625m)
❌ No deposit protection: money gone = money gone. No protection
❌ No regulation: no consumer protection, no complaints office
❌ Rug pulls: fraudsters create fake projects and disappear with the money

Recommendation: for 99% of private investors DeFi is NOT relevant. Only once you really understand blockchain technology AND are prepared to lose everything should you consider DeFi.

Did you know? In 2022, more than $3 billion was stolen in DeFi hacks. The biggest: the Ronin Bridge ($625 million), followed by the Wormhole hack ($325 million).

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