8 Top DeFi Projects That Will Bring Blockchain to Mass Adoption
Nowadays, when you ask experts in the blockchain space what they are most excited about, the answer is often DeFi, which is a blockchain project that is one of the fastest-growing areas in the crypto space. With recent Q3 2019 Dapp Market Report findings that DeFis is experiencing tremendous growth and DeFi projects “contributed over 58% of the volume of Ethereum dapps in Q3” (find out more at Dapp.com), there is no doubt that DeFi is the next buzz in the industry.
If you don’t exactly know what DeFi means, then we can tell you it stands for Decentralized Finance. And it is an area within the blockchain that covers projects that are building to create new financial systems on public blockchains.
That could include anything from peer-to-peer payment systems to decentralized lending, trading, insurance, invoicing, etc. The possibilities for this new and exciting industry are endless. You can learn more about DeFi in the video below:
So let us have a closer look at some of the more exciting DeFi projects that are leading the way.
Top DeFi blockchain projects
In this category, we have the framework and protocols supporting many new decentralized finance applications. These projects are building the foundation for the next generation of DeFi solutions.
DeFi – Infrastructures
Chainlink
Chainlinks is working hard to create a way to connect data and dApps that exist on the blockchains with data and applications that currently exist outside of the blockchains. This connection of smart contracts data with real-world data is believed by many to be a crucial part in making blockchains truly mass-adapted.
0x
0x is building a protocol that allows anyone to easily exchange assets on the Ethereum network. The 0x protocol can be used for a range of use cases, from order books at decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges to marketplaces of gaming assets, prediction markets, loans, and much more.
They are building the foundation and want to attract other users and developers to easily get started building out from the 0x protocol.
DeFi – Payments
In the payments section of DeFi projects, we have a couple of very interesting projects that hopefully can continue to grow and become widely used around the world.
OmiseGO
First out on the list is OmiseGO from Thailand. They want to enable ‘instant, peer-to-peer transactions in real-time, facilitating financial services across geographies, asset classes, and applications’. And they have created a range of products to support this vision. with the OmiseGO network being at the core. A 4,000 TPS blockchain that is made for fast and cheap transactions.
Request Network
During the height of 2017 and 2018, this new decentralized ecosystem of payments gained a lot of attention and attraction. As for many other projects, they experienced a hard drop in height. And both investors of the REQ token and supporters of the DeFi vision were losing faith.
We are happy to see that the future of decentralized finance with Request is still good potential. But questions, like many others, lie around how Ethereum will handle the scalability issues.
DeFi – Stablecoins
If you haven’t heard about stablecoins yet, then you probably haven’t been that closely involved in the blockchain and crypto space. Stablecoins are essentially coins that are pegged to a Fiat currency, like the USD, GBP, EUR, or commodities. The assets are meant to be stable in price and attract users who want to avoid volatility.
DAI
DAI is a stablecoin that is asset-backed, which means it is backed by digital assets, in this case, Ether, the cryptocurrency. The DAI stablecoin is launched by the MakerDao team, and it is pegged to the US dollar. Each DAI is backed by Ether through a collateralized debt position, where users deposit their Ether to generate DAOs.
Using a stable coin like the DAI is perfect for both payments, where consumers and merchants can accept a coin that stays stable in price for purchases, and if wanting to convert to a Fiat currency. It also attracts investors who want to place some or all of their trading cryptocurrencies in safe and stable assets to avoid volatility.
DIGIX
Digix has brought traditional gold to the blockchain and created a new cryptocurrency that is pegged to it. So physical bars of gold are now represented on the blockchain by the DGX tokens. Where 1 DGX represents 1 gram of gold. This is making digital gold divisible and easily transactable on the blockchain.
DeFi – Lending
Decentralized lending is becoming very popular. It allows businesses to get loans at much more competitive loan rates, but also a very useful option for investors to use their cryptocurrencies to support the loans and, in return, receive interest on their funds.
BlockFi
BlockFi is one of the more well-known companies that provides the possibility to get decentralized loans. It works like any other traditional lending platform, but the assets in question that are used are cryptocurrencies. And if you were just holding your cryptocurrencies on an exchange otherwise, then it might interest you to know that BlockFi is offering up to 8.6% in annual interest rates for your cryptocurrencies.
ETHLend
Another lending option is ETHLend, and they provide a similar service to BlockFi. It is a decentralized peer-to-peer lending marketplace, where anyone can join to get a loan with just a few clicks. ETHLend offers users very competitive rates and investors the chance to earn minimum interest rates of at least 3%.
If you want to learn more about DeFi, we recommend you visit the website DeFI Prime. And if you are new to cryptocurrencies and want to learn more, we recommend reading this guide about how to get started.
There is no question that much of the predicted success of blockchain will come from decentralized finance, and it is easy to see the use cases and value it brings. Removing unnecessary middlemen will enable better rates and cheaper fees, amongst many other benefits.
This article was written by Per Englund, founder of crypto site Go CryptoWise
