Assets, Ethereum

Is Ethereum a DeFi Coin?

Decentralized finance—often called “DeFi”—refers to the shift from traditional, centralized financial systems to peer-to-peer finance enabled by decentralized technologies built on the Ethereum blockchain. From lending and borrowing platforms to stablecoins and tokenized BTC, the DeFi ecosystem has launched an expansive network of integrated protocols that are changing the way we interact with financial services.

By deploying immutable smart contracts on Ethereum, DeFi developers can launch financial protocols and platforms that run exactly as programmed and that are available to anyone with an Internet connection. The breakthrough of DeFi is that crypto assets can now be put to use in ways not possible with fiat or “real world” assets.

Decentralized exchanges, synthetic assets, and flash loans are completely novel applications that can only exist on blockchains.

The breakthrough of DeFi is that crypto assets can now be put to use in ways not possible with fiat or “real world” assets. Decentralized exchanges, synthetic assets, and flash loans are completely novel applications that can only exist on blockchains.

With over $13 billion worth of value locked in Ethereum smart contracts (as of October 2020), decentralized finance has emerged as the most active sector in the blockchain space, with a wide range of use cases for individuals, developers, and institutions.

NOTE: Warning: Ethereum is not a DeFi (Decentralized Finance) coin. Ethereum is an open source, public blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. DeFi is an umbrella term for a variety of financial applications, protocols, and products built on top of blockchain networks such as Ethereum. Therefore, while Ethereum can be used to facilitate DeFi transactions, it is not itself a DeFi coin.

Ethereum is the clear leader in DeFi. The vast majority of decentralized finance protocols are built on Ethereum, and there’s a strong network effect around Ethereum-based DeFi applications.

Users benefit from a wide range of integrated protocols and platforms, while developers can tap into a large pool of users and a well-established ecosystem of tooling and infrastructure.

However, while Ethereum is currently the best platform for decentralized finance applications, it faces stiff competition from UPStarts like Polkadot and Cardano who are building next-generation blockchains specifically for DeFi applications. It remains to be seen whether Ethereum can maintain its dominance in the space as these challengers launch their own ecosystems of integrated protocols and platforms.

Ethereum is a DeFi coin because the majority of decentralized finance protocols are built on Ethereum. Users benefit from a wide range of integrated protocols and platforms available on Ethereum, while developers can tap into a large pool of users.

However, Ethereum faces stiff competition from UPStarts like Polkadot and Cardano who are building next-generation blockchains specifically for DeFi applications.

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