Defi, short for Decentralized Finance, is the replacement of traditional financial services, specifically borrowing and lending, by using blockchain services.
Normally, in the traditional banking system, when you need a loan, you have to apply to a bank, go through a rigorous process and most times get rejected and even when you get loans, the interest rates are too high. The banks also use our money deposited in our accounts to give out loans and pay us 0.25% and take all the profit simply for being a middle man.
Master banker, Master banker, please accept me.
Defi projects allow users to borrow money from liquidity providers (lenders) at a better rate than most banks ever will, it also allows you to provide liquidity for borrowers and earn interest up to 11% as at the time of this article. Defi takes away the need for a middle man, lenders and borrowers can interact with each other freely using smart contracts.
How to use Defi?
To get started on defi you will need an ethereum wallet that can interact with smart contracts, such as metamask, dapper wallet, ledger, or even the new noncustodial "coin base wallet" (different from coinbase app).
Defi Pulse
On defi pulse, you can see the top defi protocols and the value of coins locked up in each protocol. Click on any pool you want and start investing.
ZAPPER.fi
This is where I like to manage my defi assets, all you need to click connect wallet and it connects to your metamask or coinbase wallet (walletLink).
Now I'm connected
All you need to do is click on "Invest"
I'm currently providing liquidity to AMPL/ETH pool and earning 222% interest per month, at the moment. There are other pools to invest in and you can see how much you stand to gain.
Please note there can be high gas fees when using defi due to ETH network congestion.
If all of this is a bit too technical for you then you may be happy to know you can also access defi services directly from this noncustodial coinbase wallet.
See how simple and easy it is, you just deposit your crypto and click invest. You can withdraw whenever you want.
No more "Master banker, Master banker please accept me"
I hope you found this post useful and now know what De-fi is? If you did, subscribe and upvote for more posts like this. Cheers!
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Oohh. So that's how it works. I am still a bit confused but this article sure is helpful. Thank you! Keep writing!💕