DeFi (defined as the use of technologies such as blockchain and smart contracts to decentralize financial products) have been gaining ground and, as a result, new platforms emerge to trade these products. Check below the top ten DeFi platforms in the world at the time this article was written, according to the DeFi Pulse ranking.
Uniswap
With US$1.79 billion of total locked value, Uniswap tops the list. A member of the decentralized exchange group, it has Ethereum as its basis. In it, people who want to trade tokens can collaborate to a liquidity pool, which is rewarded with a small percentage of the amount made available. Thus, the lack of liquidity that usually affects decentralized exchanges is resolved.
Maker
MakerDAO combines loans with a stablecoin to facilitate crypto loans. This happens because as traditional cryptocurrencies suffer strong price fluctuation, the final value of credit could get much higher than the original. In this way, those who have ETH can lock part of these assets to generate the stablecoin DAI and, with it, carry out the credit operations. Thus, the platform has grown and currently adds US$ 1.46 billion in total locked value.
Aave
Just like Maker, Aave is one of the DeFi lending platforms and has a total locked value of US$ 1.42 billion. Its proposal is to offer flash loans, allowing you to take out a loan instantly and without the need for collateral. Aave also provides two types of interest on credit taking. In one of them, the rates are fixed and determined at the time of hiring. In contrast, in loans with variable rates, the interest fluctuates according to transactions made by the user (such as deposits, cashouts, settlements, etc.), and may have a strong variation.
Curve Finance
Another decentralized exchange, Curve Finance focuses its performance in the area of stablecoins trading. In addition, you can provide liquidity to the platform and earn a percentage on it. It has US$ 1.18 billion in locked value.
Yearn.finance
In August 2020, Yearn saw the value of its token skyrocket 700%. The YFI reached US$ 38,000, beating bitcoin’s record in 2017: US$ 20,000.00. But Yearn.finance goes beyond its token. The innovations launched by Andre Cronje, the company’s developer, above all, are a highlight. Among the company’s products you can find decentralized insurances and a “safe” Ethereum that promises high returns. Today, the company’s total locked value reaches US$ 996.5 million.
Synthetix
Synthetix started out as a stablecoin, but has expanded and today offers a protocol that allows the trading of derivatives. Its users can create Synths, “synthetic” assets that track the price of real-world assets. Examples of assets of this type on the platform are sXAU (which accompanies gold) and those that accompany real currencies such as sUSD and sAUD. Today, its total locked value is US$ 720 million.
Compound
This Cryptocurrency Loan DeFi platform works by registering smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. In it, users can earn interest from their deposits. Its governance token was hugely successful at launch. And now the exchange has US$ 650 million of total locked value.
Balancer
The Decentralized exchange Balancer has a total locked value of US$ 544.7 million. It is an automated market-maker protocol (AMMs) of various tokens. AMMs are automated agents controlled by algorithms that define the rules for operations. Generally, they make both sales and purchases. The difference is that with Balancer, it is possible to use the system for two or more tokens at the same time.
WBTC
WBTC represents the “transportation” of bitcoin to Ethereum. That is, it is nothing more than an ERC20 token that represents the leading cryptocurrency. The amount locked in this type of asset is currently US$ 439.9 million.
RenVM
Closing the list, with US$ 211.1 million of total locked value, is RenVM. Created by Ren, it is an open protocol that makes a kind of bridge between the different cryptoassets so that the user has access to liquidity. According to Money Times, it is possible to use RenVM as a plugin in DeFi projects, allowing users to deposit and withdraw the Ren version of different cryptoassets.
