What is DeFi?

Decentralized Finance

DeFi (Decentralized Finance) refers to financial services built on blockchains without intermediaries like banks. Through "smart contracts" (self-executing code), users can lend, trade and earn interest directly — controlled by code rather than a company, open to anyone with a wallet.

Common Applications

Major types include: decentralized exchanges (DEXs like Uniswap) that let you swap tokens without signing up; lending protocols (like Aave) where you can collateralize assets to borrow or deposit to earn; and liquidity mining, which earns yield by providing trading-pair liquidity.

Risks to Know

DeFi yields often come with high risk: smart contracts may have exploitable bugs; "impermanent loss" can erode market-making returns; many high-APY projects are essentially Ponzi schemes or go to zero. Always research audits before participating, and only invest what you can afford to lose.

Related reading

• Staking yield compare
• OKX Web3 wallet guide