DeFi: Cryptoasset Buffet (re)opens For Business

If cryptocurrencies aimed to disrupt payments and initial coin offerings (ICOs) did the same for venture capital, the latest crypto-craze goes after the core banking business: lending and deposit taking.

What is DeFi?

Decentralised Finance - or DeFi for short - is the latest buzzword from the world of blockchain and cryptoassets. According to Binance Research, a research arm of the leading crypto exchange, DeFi stands for "[a]n ecosystem comprised of applications built on decentralised networks, permissionless blockchains, and peer-to-peer protocols for the facilitation of lending/borrowing or trading with financial instruments"¹.  DeFi projects and businesses aim to replicate existing financial services in a peer-to-peer, decentralised, accessible, interoperable and transparent way, while simultaneously eliminating the need for traditional financial intermediaries, such as banks, securities exchanges and other financial institutions.²  Enabling technology for