Decentralized finance is a fairly new, nuanced concept for mainstream audiences. At its core, DeFi promises a revamped global financial system equipped with savings, loans and inventive yield-earning opportunities that enable innovative financial products without centralized gatekeepers. Since Jan. 1, this promise has been met with a demand that has exceeded $11 billion in total value locked, representing a more than 1,550% increase in year-to-date value. DeFi applications require the on-chain logic of smart contracts. Today, a lot of experimentation and early traction for DeFi applications is happening in the Ethereum ecosystem, using the JavaScript-like language Solidity. Related: Programming languages …

Satoshi Natakmoto’s anonymity and powerful mining-incentive mechanism are key examples of what made Bitcoin (BTC) unique and led to its unparalleled success. But for truly democratized money and finance to be achieved, it is worth reminding enthusiasts that Bitcoin was an iteration in a series of trials and errors that go back as far as the 1980s. David Chaum conducted research as early as 1982 that laid the groundwork for the invention of “Computer Systems Established, Maintained, and Trusted by Mutually Suspicious Groups.” Other cryptographers — including Adam Back, Hal Finney, Nick Szabo and Vitalik Buterin, to mention just a …

At the time of writing this article, around 3.6% of Bitcoin (BTC) is locked up in long-term holdings by institutional investors. According to the data, 13 entities have amassed close to 600,000 BTC — about 2.85% of all Bitcoins and worth approximately $6.9 billion. The list includes MicroStrategy at the top, with close to 38,250 BTC (about $450 million). The second on the list is Galaxy Digital Holdings with 16,651 BTC (about $198 million). The third, with 4,709 BTC, is the payment company Square Inc., founded by Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey. Separately, some companies help their clients invest in BTC. …

Programmers have found a way to replace the core service offerings of Wall Street and an army of corporate lawyers with 800 lines of smart contract code. The “De” in DeFi stands for “decentralized,” meaning there are no intermediaries in the process. Despite the raw and unpolished user interface, billions of dollars in assets flow through new decentralized apps every day. We’re only at the beginning of the growing DeFi bubble, and there are already tokens worth more than Bitcoin (BTC). Some of these tokens are nothing more than a name, code and smart marketing. There are shrimp, burger, spaghetti …

The recent health scare surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak seems to have accelerated the move toward a cashless society, with cashless payment spiking in concert with viral cases. Yet, our findings in a Genesis Mining study called “Perceptions and Understanding of Money 2020” indicate that a significant majority of Americans are not psyched about parting with their paper money on a permanent basis. To be more specific, we found that 60% of respondents are opposed to the idea of paper money being replaced with “digital-only money.” This could be a “devil-you-know” versus a “devil-you-don’t-know” situation where familiarity with paper money is …

The basis of any exchange of value is trust. The more two parties trust each other, the more they will feel confident engaging in transactions. Not just engaging in a high volume of transactions, but higher value transactions, too. Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies are certainly accomplishing a lot when it comes to creating a decentralized environment where the ability to trust another party is taken out of the equation by a blockchain. Hardcore enthusiasts who already understand this are the ones most willing to reach into their coffers and pour money into the crypto revolution. The truth is, though, …

In a broad sense, 2020 has been the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. As it toward 1 million deaths and over 30 million infections, governments have been found wanting. Our institutions have crumbled, leaders reacted too slowly, and all of the systems both in place and newly created to protect us — healthcare, aged care, testing, protective equipment supply chains, contact tracing, etc. — have collapsed. But 2020 has also very much been the year of decentralized finance, which has come to be known as DeFi. DeFi is crypto To understand why DeFi has captured the imagination of the entire …

As an anarcho-capitalist, I hold that property rights are sacred and that violence is acceptable only when our natural rights, as embedded and enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, are under a direct and imminent threat, and only in self-defense. I might be the first anarchist, anarcho-capitalist, or minarchist you’ve ever met. Those labels may sound scary to some — that’s fine. Democrats and Republicans call each other scary names all the time, too. But all my labels mean is that I believe in a monetary system that presumes freedom more consistently than that which is advocated by …

Economists, pundits, institutions and investors often talk about the global financial system. When stocks go up and trade thrives, they applaud its contributions to prosperity; when the markets crash and stocks dip, they blame its inhuman scale or its untrustworthy manipulators. But anyone who has attempted to diversify their portfolio with foreign stocks or acquire another nation’s bonds quickly comes to the same conclusion: The global financial system isn’t a single entity. “The system,” singular, is really “The systems,” plural. How do the pieces of the global financial system interact? Not always as well as might be hoped, as exemplified …

If Bitcoin (BTC) was born in response to the systemic failures laid bare by one global financial crisis, then the subsequent rise of various decentralized networks can be seen as differences in opinion on the best way forward. All are in agreement that the existing financial system is broken, but are slightly at odds in terms of how to fix it. In a sense, each of these networks represents a new, if partial, vision of what could make for a better system. For instance, we’ve seen Celo leverage cryptographic tools and mobile phones to put financial instruments into the hands …

The cryptocurrency field is a place where everything changes in the blink of an eye. New technologies, key market players and trends shift much faster than in any other industry. From the current point of view, many exciting developments seem viable. Still, this chaotic industry can bring more opportunities within the upcoming months, and everything we’ve seen before will be surpassed by something truly outstanding. However, let’s quickly check in. The shift toward a cashless society One of the most society-redefining trends of 2020 came unexpectedly. Right after Christmas, the world seemed safe and sound despite dreadful news from China. …

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced economies to a halt and stretched the central banking system. Central banks have been printing money on a scale like never before, which makes the 2008 financial crisis pale in comparison. Over $2 trillion dollars were printed to stabilize the markets and increase liquidity. Back in 2008, Bitcoin (BTC) was created in reaction to these quantitative easing programs as an alternative to fiat currencies and the traditional financial systems. Where governments can print money at will, a numerus clausus asset class is attractive as an inflationary hedge. In 2008, the financial crisis began with disruption …