DeFi

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DeFi, short for decentralized finance, represents a shift in the financial sector by leveraging blockchain technology, primarily Ethereum, to eliminate traditional financial intermediaries. It enables various financial applications, from simple transactions to complex contracts, through smart contracts that execute automatically under specific conditions. Key DeFi applications include decentralized exchanges (DEXs), stablecoins, lending platforms, and prediction markets. DeFi offers financial services like loans and interest-earning opportunities without traditional identity verification, relying instead on collateral, usually in cryptocurrency. This innovative sector promises increased accessibility and efficiency but comes with risks, such as market volatility and unregulated projects.

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Financial Building-Blocks: Structured Products and Blockchain
From significant cost reductions to enhanced composability, and improved accessibility, Christine Cai, Co-Founder of Cicada Partners, and Alexander Szul, CEO of Rome Blockchai...
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(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)
Defi Protocol LI.FI Struck by $11M Exploit
The exploit is reported to be related to the LI.FI bridge.
(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)

Free Alex Pertsev poster spotted outside the courthouse (Jack Schickler/CoinDesk)
Tornado Cash Co-Founder Alexey Pertsev Denied Bail by Dutch Court
Pertsev sought bail to allow him to prepare for his appeal to the verdict in May which found him guilty of money laundering.
Free Alex Pertsev poster spotted outside the courthouse (Jack Schickler/CoinDesk)

(Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)
Exponential.fi Wants to Make It Easier to Invest in DeFi
The platform aims to make it easy to identify opportunities, bridge fiat, assess risk, and invest in crypto all-in-one.
(Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)

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Compound Finance, Celer Site Compromised in Phishing Attack
The website leads to a phishing page that could drain user funds, but the actual protocol remains unaffected.
(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)

Yield Booster NFTs (WOOFi)
Decentralized Crypto Exchange WOOFi Uses Gaming Style NFTs to Boost DeFi
So-called “Boosters” enhance the yield from WOO tokens, which are staked to earn a share of the DEX’s fees.
Yield Booster NFTs (WOOFi)

CoinDesk DeFi Index
DeFi Tokens Plunge 10%-20%, Led by Pendle Amid Weak Crypto Price Action This Week
Pendle has recently lost $3 billion of its TVL with the June expiry as a result of diminishing airdrop farming hype and lower yields amid muted crypto activity.
CoinDesk DeFi Index

The Polkadot pavilion on the Promenade at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)
Polkadot’s $245M Treasury Would Last 2 Years at Current Spending Rate
The blockchain spent $87 million in the first six months this year, with marketing activities accounting for the majority of expenses.
The Polkadot pavilion on the Promenade at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)

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Blast Token Debuts at $3B Value as 17% of Supply Airdropped to Early Adopters
Blast is the second largest layer 2 network with $1.6 billion in TVL.
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16:9 Portal, wormhole (jw210913/PIxabay)
Marathon's Layer-2 Chain, Anduro, Plugs In 'Portal to Bitcoin' for Atomic Swaps
The publicly-traded bitcoin miner Marathon began incubating Anduro in February as a "platform built on the Bitcoin network that allows for the creation of multiple sidechains....
16:9 Portal, wormhole (jw210913/PIxabay)