Millions of investors have been swept up in the action and excitement of the burgeoning crypto and DeFi market. And what’s not to love? Cryptocurrencies have helped take power away from banks and financial institutions and place it into the hands of the people.
While it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, the idea of a decentralized peer-to-peer financial system run by permissionless smart contracts on a blockchain instead of people in suits has resonated with investors worldwide. Year-to-date, the total value locked in DeFi contracts has surged over 1000%, from $21 billion in January to more than $237 billion today, according to data from DeFi Llama.
And the next evolution of the technology underpinning crypto is already underway.
DeFi has been gaining a lot of attention from institutional and retail investors alike. As financial systems worldwide migrate increasingly to digital platforms, DeFi has emerged as the decentralized solution to traditional centralized financial operations.
DeFi platforms have made it possible to participate in – and profit from – the types of financial instruments typically reserved for banks. With DeFi, users can engage in lending, borrowing, trading, and passive income strategies, all without the need for third-party interference or bureaucratic red tape.
The result has brought improved efficiency, increased speed, cost reductions, and equal opportunity access to financial systems to ordinary people across the globe.
The DeFi world is growing rapidly, and new projects are coming to market all the time, but not every one of them is destined to be a winner. With that in mind, here are 10 DeFi projects that should be on everyone’s radar.
Aave (AAVE)
Launched in 2017 and run on the Ethereum blockchain, Aave (AAVE) is one of the original DeFi protocols. It offers users access to a decentralized liquidity platform, linking lenders searching for passive income with borrowers looking for crypto. In addition to the interest earned on their deposits, liquidity providers can also earn rewards by staking their AAVE coins and the Aave DeFi platform.
Avalanche (AVAX)
Positioning itself as a direct competitor to Ethereum, Avalanche (AVAX) is layer one blockchain used as a platform for creating Dapps, NFTs, and other custom blockchains. What sets Avalanche apart from Ethereum is the platform’s self-described “blazingly fast” speeds, which are capable of handling up to 6,500 transactions per second, making it faster and cheaper than its rival.
Since its launch in 2020, several notable Ethereum based projects have integrated with Avalanche, including SushiSwap and TrueUSD. The platform is continuously working to improve interoperability between its ecosystem and that of other platforms.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano (ADA) is another blockchain platform worth keeping an eye on for two reasons. First, it is one of the world’s largest blockchains with a current market cap approaching US$70 billion. Secondly, Cardano gains notoriety as one of the greenest blockchain projects, which is significant when other blockchains are increasingly criticized for their massive energy consumption. The platform recently announced a $100 million investment earmarked for developing DApps, NFTs, and blockchain education.
Chainlink (LINK)
Even in a completely decentralized ecosystem, there are times where the blockchain relies on real-world data. Chainlink (LINK) oracles act as a bridge, connecting blockchain-based smart contracts with reliable off-chain data sources. Chainlink recently announced the launch of a new Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), which will facilitate better cross-chain development and communication, along with a Programmable Token Bridge that will enable secure, scalable, and cost-effective token transfers between blockchain networks.
Uniswap (UNI)
Uniswap (UNI) is one of the largest decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and a leader in the DeFi ecosystem. Unlike traditional exchanges and even many popular crypto exchanges, Uniswap facilitates purely peer-to-peer transactions via automated market makers (AMMs) and liquidity pools instead of an order book model.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot (DOT) is like the internet for blockchain. It enables independent blockchains to communicate and share information in a trust-free environment via the Polkadot relay chain. As a blockchain of blockchains, Polkadot has emerged as a next-generation DeFi platform aiming to address some of the issues, namely speed and scalability, that have challenged its primarily rival Ethereum.
Terra Luna (LUNA)
Terra Luna (LUNA) brings many unique features to the DeFi ecosystem by bringing programmable money to the internet. Terra Luna combines DeFi and fiat-pegged stablecoins allowing users to conduct cross-border payments effortlessly, faster, and with fewer fees than other digital payment systems. Terra offers a wide range of stablecoins – from TerraUSD to TerraEUR – while the LUNA operates as the backbone that keeps stablecoin prices stable. With governments worldwide increasingly embracing the idea of stablecoins, LUNA is worth watching.
Polygon (MATIC)
Polygon (MATIC) isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it is the fastest-growing Ethereum layer 2 scaling and Dapp solution. “Built by developers, for developers” Polygon adds additional capacity to Ethereum’s heavily trafficked layer 1 highway while also bringing multi-chains system capabilities, similar to those offered by competitors like Polkadot and Avalanche. With most Dapps still being built on Ethereum, addressing speed and cost problems on the blockchain will benefit the entire DeFi ecosystem.
Solana (SOL)
Solana (SOL) is throwing its hat into the ring as an up-and-coming Ethereum competitor. Unlike other blockchains, Solana utilizes a proof of history – instead of proof of work or proof of stake – consensus mechanism. This POH allows transactions to be validated with a true timestamp rather than requiring mining or staking on the platform. The resulting lightning-fast speeds and low costs have garnered Solana a lot of attention in the DeFi market.
Synthetix (SNX)
Synthetix (SNX) is a liquidity pool bringing trading in derivatives, along with stocks, currencies, and commodities, to crypto holders with its vast array of synthetic assets. Users can choose from existing synths or mint their own using the platform’s unique synth builder feature. The ability to gain exposure to an unlimited range of assets without having to hold them is making Synthetix (SNX) one of the hottest new DeFi products around.
(Source: Google Finance)
DeFi Technologies Inc. (NEO: DEFI) (GR: RMJR) (OTC: DEFTF) is a one-of-a-kind publicly traded technology company working to bring DeFi market exposure to conventional equity investors. In recent news, wholly-owned subsidiary and issuer of digital asset exchange-traded products, Valour Inc, officially brought their exclusive ETFs to the Boerse Frankfurt Zertifikate AG. Bitcoin Zero and Ethereum Zero began trading last week, and Valour’s Cardano, Polkadot, and Solana ETPs will follow shortly.
Not long before the trading announcement, Valour officially surpassed US$250 million in assets under management, having grown more than 2560% in less than a year. While this marks an extraordinary achievement, their addition to Germany’s largest exchange could see AUM growth continue to increase exponentially.
Hoping to capitalize on the strength of the European DeFi and crypto economy, DeFi Technologies has expanded its management team and will continue to focus on accelerating its progress in this high-growth market.
And DeFi Technologies’ remarkable performance has not gone unnoticed. The company was recently featured on a NetworkNewsAudio broadcast which was shared via thousands of news network points.
Following the podcast, DeFi Technologies CEO Russell Starr was interviewed on Bloomberg’s The RedChip Money Report®. Bloomberg is a premier business news network with an estimated 73 million viewers in the US alone. The RedChip Money Report® examines small-cap investing opportunities and is produced by RedChip Companies Inc., an international Investor Relations and media firm focused on Discovering Tomorrow’s Blue Chips Today™.
Disclaimer: The company described in this article is a customer of NAI Interactive Ltd. This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a recommendation or offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities or financial instruments, or for transactions involving any financial instrument or trading strategy.
