What is DeFi?
Decentralized finance refers to financial services (lending, trading, derivatives, insurance, asset management) implemented as smart contracts on public blockchains. DeFi removes intermediaries, settles 24/7 globally, and is composable: any protocol can integrate with any other.
Total value locked peaked above $200B in 2021 and stabilized around $100-150B by 2026 across Ethereum, Solana, BSC, Tron, Base, Arbitrum, and TON.
How it works
Decentralized finance refers to financial services (lending, trading, derivatives, insurance, asset management) implemented as smart contracts on public blockchains. DeFi removes intermediaries, settles 24/7 globally, and is composable: any protocol can integrate with any other.
Total value locked peaked above $200B in 2021 and stabilized around $100-150B by 2026 across Ethereum, Solana, BSC, Tron, Base, Arbitrum, and TON.
For deeper protocol-level mechanics, see the related glossary terms below or the linked DeFi Intel topic deep-dive.
Why it matters
DeFi removes intermediaries, settles 24/7 globally, and is composable — any protocol integrates with any other. It is the largest non-payment use case for crypto with $100B+ TVL.
Real-world examples
Aave (lending), Uniswap (DEX), MakerDAO (stablecoin issuance), Lido (liquid staking), Pendle (yield trading).
Related terms
- CeFi (Centralized Finance)
- TradFi (Traditional Finance)
- AMM (Automated Market Maker)
- Lending
- Smart Contract
Go deeper
Read the full DeFi Intel topic deep-dive or browse the complete crypto glossary.
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