DeFi (Decentralized Finance)

DeFi (Decentralized Finance) is any financial service performed without a middleman (therefore, in a decentralized fashion). In the vast majority of cases, DeFi represents protocols working on blockchains through smart contracts, to offer financial services to individuals without having to pass through an intermediary, neither having to negotiate with a counterpart.

Financial services, in the case of DeFi, represents any type of investment, loan, credit… virtually anything that is usually performed by retail or investment banking on behalf of their clients.

Making use of algorithms, computer code and liquidity pools, such protocols make possible such financial services without having a middleman manage everything behind the curtains.