DeFi (Decentralized Finance)

What is DeFi (Decentralized Finance)?

Open financial protocols (lending, swaps, derivatives, staking) running entirely on smart contracts. Ethereum hosts the largest TVL (~$50B+ in 2026), followed by Solana, BNB Chain, Arbitrum.

Related terms

• DEX (Decentralized Exchange)On-chain exchange: trade without custodian (Uniswap, Curve, etc.)
• TVL (Total Value Locked)Total USD value deposited in DeFi protocols on a chain
• Ethereum (ETH)Smart-contract blockchain — second-largest by market cap after BTC
• Smart ContractSelf-executing code deployed on a blockchain