Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
DeFi stands for Decentralized Finance. DeFi purports to remove financial institutions or other centralized third-party institutions from a financial servicesGeneral services, including non-profits, forums and news sit... More platform. The financial products, services, and instruments are implemented in code via smart contractsA smart contract is a computer protocol intended to digitall... More and are made up of independent parts that are brought together without the use of traditional intermediaries like banks. DeFi structures may resemble existing financial lending structures in nature, and take on the functions and characteristics of regulated activities, including operating as a broker dealer, lending funds, earning interest, and offering securities. DeFi protocols are usually cross-border in nature and permissionless by design, while many DeFi aspects may currently fall outside the regulatory perimeter or may lack clear compliance requirements (i.e., DeFi protocols usually have little or no KYC).
Note: These are non-technical definitions meant for a general audience and should not be used as legal definition