Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
DeFi, or decentralized finance, is a blockchain-based alternative to traditional financial solutions, including banking, exchange, funding and so on. However, the state DeFi is in right now raises a lot of questions about the future of the industry.
Lack of competition
According to DefiLIama's data, the difference between the second and the third biggest protocol on the network amounts to more than $2 billion; between the first and the third place — almost $3 billion.
The first place is held by the biggest decentralized stable currency, DAO. However, the protocol's TVL did not reach such a high number only because of the decentralized stable currency. More than 400 applications and services integrated the decentralized stablecoin, which is the primary reason behind the massive $6.63 billion TVL.
The second place on the DeFi market is held by Lido Finance, a protocol we have covered numerous times. Lido Finance allows users to increase the liquidity of their staked assets by exchanging cryptocurrencies like ETH to stETH tokens. Since the coin lock period for Ethereum remains undisclosed, investors choose Lido to have the ability to manage their ETH while it remains in staking.
Main downsides of DeFi
Despite the aforementioned projects' dominance on the market, it is hard to call them centralized or dangerous for the stability of the decentralized finance industry. However, the lack of competitors for projects like Lido Finance creates certain risks for retail users.
Previously, industry experts expressed their concerns over Lido's token issuance scheme. Practically, Lido holds real Ethereum in exchange for self-issued tokens that have been constantly losing their peg to ETH. In the case of a spike in downward volatility, users might face issues with stETH's liquidity and lose a lot of the exchange value.
Gamza Khanzadaev
Alex Dovbnya
