DeFi

DeFi, short for decentralized finance, represents a shift in the financial sector by leveraging blockchain technology, primarily Ethereum, to eliminate traditional financial intermediaries. It enables various financial applications, from simple transactions to complex contracts, through smart contracts that execute automatically under specific conditions. Key DeFi applications include decentralized exchanges (DEXs), stablecoins, lending platforms, and prediction markets. DeFi offers financial services like loans and interest-earning opportunities without traditional identity verification, relying instead on collateral, usually in cryptocurrency. This innovative sector promises increased accessibility and efficiency but comes with risks, such as market volatility and unregulated projects.


Tech

Uniswap Unveils Version 3 in Bid to Stay DeFi's Top Dog

V3 of the automated market maker is penciled in for an Ethereum mainnet launch on May 5.

Uniswap has become Ethereum's most prominent DEX.

Finance

Teller Finance's Mainnet Launch Puts NFTs to Work – But Not How You Expect

Collectibles meet liquidity provision as Teller Finance brings unsecured lending to DeFi via fintech giant Plaid.

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Markets

Market Wrap: Bitcoin Near $56K, Struggles With Flat Activity on Exchanges

As of March 21, there were fewer than 2.44 million BTC available on exchanges, the lowest amount since August 2018.

CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index

Videos

What’s a ‘Poisoned’ Sandwich Trade on a Decentralized Exchange?

Experienced DeFi traders have been serving newbies a tainted lunch. Automated “sandwich bots” help traders manipulate prices on decentralized exchanges to siphon profits from less-experienced users. CoinDesk tech reporter Will Foxley breaks down how one DeFi trader took revenge on a mining pool by tricking its sandwich bot into purchasing fake tokens for real ETH.

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Videos

Financial Watchdog Group Updates Guidance Affecting DeFi, NFTs

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global financial watchdog organization, has updated its guidance on crypto assets to be more inclusive of recent market changes, including the NFT boom and growing interest in decentralized finance. Siân Jones of XReg Consulting weighs in on what the updated guidance means for crypto regulation.

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Tech

Bad Sandwich: DeFi Trader 'Poisons' Front-Running Miners for $250K Profit

A DeFi trader tricked Ethermine's sandwich bot into purchasing "Salmonella" and "Listeria" tokens for some 130 ETH.

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Finance

DeFi Credit Union Platform Xend Finance Goes Live in Africa First

Xend is the first DeFi protocol to launch from the African continent using the Binance Smart Chain.

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Policy

Financial Watchdogs Have DeFi in Their Sights, Alter Wording Around NFTs

The FATF guidance makes a careful change of terminology, which appears to be a nod in the direction of NFTs.

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Videos

Bank of America Says DeFi Potentially ‘More Disruptive’ Than Bitcoin

In a new report titled “Bitcoin’s Dirty Little Secrets,” Bank of America had a lot to say about bitcoin. Decentralized finance’s potential to overshadow bitcoin, the uses of Ethereum and the future of CBDCs were all also covered in BoA’s report. “The Hash” panel has a lot of unpacking to do.

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Videos

Will Bitcoin Be the Currency of the World? Scaramucci: 'It's Quite Possible'

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of Skybridge Capital and former White House communications director, discusses bitcoin, DeFi, NFTs and all things crypto. When asked about a BTC price prediction, he said, "I'm sticking with $100,000 because if I tell people what I really think ... they're gonna think that I'm nuts." But when asked about a much higher price point, he didn't rule that out.

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