The Blokaro Encyclopedia

A decentralised exchange (DEX) allows users to trade cryptocurrencies directly from their wallets using smart contracts, with no central intermediary and without giving up custody of funds. Automated Market Makers replaced traditional order books with liquidity pools.

DeFi refers to a suite of financial services — lending, borrowing, trading, yield generation — built on public blockchains, primarily Ethereum. It aims to replicate and disintermediate traditional finance without banks or intermediaries. At its peak in 2021, over $180 billion was locked in DeFi protocols.