DeFi: Financial Services Without Banks

Decentralized finance (DeFi) uses smart contracts to run traditional financial services directly on the blockchain.

Key Building Blocks

• DEX (Decentralized Exchanges): Exchanges like Uniswap that operate without a central operator.
• Lending: Lend your coins and earn interest (e.g., Aave).
• Stablecoins: Cryptocurrencies pegged to the dollar (e.g., USDC).

Why DeFi?

It is open 24/7, accessible to anyone (no credit checks), and often much more efficient than legacy systems.