DeFi Decoded - DeFi Recap: Disrupting the Nine Key Functions of Financial Services

On today's episode we review the key transformations and ask what's next? As Robert Leshner co-founder of Compound Labs says, DeFi is not going to be called DeFi in the next 5 years. It's just going to be called finance. And all finance is going to run on blockchains; most assets will make their way onto a blockchain."

Financial services is more than an industry—it is the cardiovascular system of the global economy, the lifeline of all other industries. DeFi is reimagining its anatomy and physiology from banking and trading to risk management and more.

Through the first few weeks of DeFi decoded, we have covered all the key functions of the financial service industry and how it's being disrupted. They are:

1. Storing value: DAO treasuries for institutions, cryptoasset/token wallets for individuals. These are the new crypto-native bank accounts

2. Moving value: Stablecoins such as USDC and MakerDAO’s DAI route around banks

3. Lending value: Pooled lending such as Compound and AAVE augment savings accounts at banks and other financial intermediaries and have better yields to boot.

4. Funding and investing: Investment aggregators such as YFI and Rari could ultimately disintermediate investment advisors, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and robo-advisors.

5. Exchanging value: Decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap, Sushiswap, and QuickSwap could replace or enhance stock exchanges and centralized cryptoasset exchanges

6. Insuring value and managing risk (i.e., derivatives): On-chain insurance such as NexusMutual and derivatives platforms such as SX, Perpetual protocol, and dYdX could supplement or replace insurance policies and over-the-counter derivatives.

7. Analyzing value: Contract auditors such as Zeppelin and DeFi Score could augment or perhaps even perform the work of the Big Five accounting firms.

8. Accounting for value: Block explorers such as Etherscan and PolygonScan track asset movements in real time; perhaps eventually eliminating periodic audits by accounting firms.

9. Authenticating identity: Formal verification is no longer required to access open-source DeFi protocols. Pseudonymous or anonymous identities are common.

Part of Ninepoint Digital Partner’s DeFi Decoded Podcast Series. Available at Google, Apple, and Spotify Podcasts.