Use cases · DeFi
DeFi explained for institutions
Lending, DEX trading, derivatives, and yield via smart contracts—with clear risk education for boards.
What to measure
- Deposits or total value locked (TVL) as each protocol publishes it on its own dashboard or docs—methodologies differ, so don’t add figures across protocols
- Stablecoin supply on DEXs / lending markets
- Top protocols by category (DEX, lending, LSD, perps)
Themes 2025–2026
Ethereum hosts many long-running DeFi protocols; L2s and alt-L1s compete on fees and UX. Institutional DeFi often means permissioned pools, KYC’d venues, or tokenized T-bills as collateral—not anonymous retail farming. Smart-contract, oracle, and governance risk remain central teaching points.
Regulatory hooks to watch (dated)
DeFi rules are being shaped mostly at the edges—custody, access, and anti-money-laundering. In the EU, ESMA recommended on Sep 30, 2026 that MiCA add clearer decentralisation criteria and a new regulated service for firms giving users access to DeFi protocols (ESMA press release; a consultation response, not law). In the U.S., the SEC’s crypto custody proposal published Oct 6, 2026 includes a discussion of decentralized finance (FR Doc 2026-20466; proposed, comments due Dec 7, 2026), and FinCEN withdrew its 2023 crypto mixing proposal the same day (FR Doc 2026-20429).