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Decentralisation is at the core of all the benefits that can be drawn off blockchain technology. Every app that is built on a blockchain platform today, boasts the fact that it is decentralised. So, it’s not surprising that crypto exchanges also want to jump on the bandwagon and many are on the path to launch their own <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-advertorial">decentralised exchange</a> (DEX), where there’s no middle man, just traders swapping tokens with each other. There are currently more than 35 DEXs in existence globally including Uniswap, Kyber, and Bancor — popular alternatives to centralised exchanges. In India, WazirX has plans to launch a DEX of its own sometime this month, CEO Nischal Shetty told the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/wazirx-to-launch-decentralised-exchange-next-month/articleshow/84806149.cms?from=mdr">Economic Times</a> in July. The crypto exchange boasts of 7.3 million users as of August, with more than half of its growth this year coming from Tier-II and Tier-III cities. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is a centralised exchange?" comment="subhead" text="What is a centralised exchange?">What is a centralised exchange?</cmsannotation> Before we get to what a <keyword id="12084249" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="decentralised-exchange" source="Orion">decentralised exchange</keyword> is, it’s important to understand what a centralised exchange is. Pretty much any crypto exchange in the world today is a centralised exchange. This means that when you deposit your <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-advertorial">cryptocurrency</a> onto the platform, you’re basically transferring it to a wallet that’s held by the exchange. When you deposit fiat currency — whether its the US dollar or the Indian rupee — in order to buy crypto, that crypto is also held in the exchange’s centralised wallet, till you decide to liquidate the crypto and withdraw the money back into your regular bank account. Crypto wallets have two keys, a public and private keys. Public keys are shared with anyone who wants to send you cryptocurrency, while a private key is what you use to access your own wallet. For exchanges, these are simplified even further so you never have to interact with either of these keys, which — unlike passwords — aren’t the easiest to remember.“Any crypto wallet that won’t give you your private keys should be avoided at all costs,” billionaire Elon Musk had <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1359400199521783809?s=20">warned</a> once. It’s not that centralised exchanges are necessarily risky, but it does mean that the investor does not have direct control over their purchases or holdings. In a centralised exchange, when you want to sell crypto, the exchange goes and finds another person who wants to buy your crypto. It facilitates this transaction and if you want to withdraw your crypto, you will essentially have to ask the exchange to sign a transaction on your behalf. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Onto DEX…" comment="subhead" text="Onto DEX…">Onto DEX…</cmsannotation> If you understood what a centralised exchange is, you can probably guess what a DEX is now. The primary difference, of course, is in the fact that you have access to the private key for your own crypto wallet. You’re not dependent on a central entity to hold your cryptocurrency. In some decentralised exchanges, the entire process of buying and selling is performed ‘on chain’ — it is completely transparent. You do not have to depend on a third party to facilitate the transaction, which may potentially charge you extra transaction fees on every trade. This is one of the reasons why DEX transactions are often cheaper. <div type="ExtQuote" text="“Because a DEX (decentralised exchange) does not own the data, even the authorities can't really go to the developer of the exchange and say I want the data.”" auname="WazirX CEO, Nischal Shetty"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Advantages of DEX" comment="subhead" text="Advantages of DEX"><keyword id="12084252" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advantages-of-dex" source="Orion">Advantages of DEX</keyword></cmsannotation> The two obvious advantages of DEXs are security and sovereignty. The fact that they are decentralised means there is no one entity that can be hacked, whereas a centralised exchange is more vulnerable to exploits, which in turn could affect its users. In addition, users retain access to their wallets and hence retain control of their own crypto holdings. In essence, a DEX is basically a bunch of crypto wallets that are trading with each other. Which leads us to the third big advantage — privacy. Unlike centralized exchanges, a DEX doesn’t necessarily require the user to go through the know your customer (KYC) process, meaning you do not hand over your documents to any one entity, and thereby risk giving access to others if that entity is hacked. However, KYC documents are also essential in the financial system, because they allow governments and authorities to track the flow of money. Like most things to do with privacy, this could be a double-edged sword in the long run. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Enter Automated Market Makers (AMM)" comment="subhead" text="Enter Automated Market Makers (AMM)">Enter Automated Market Makers (AMM)</cmsannotation> AMMs have been backed by some of the biggest venture funds in the world and billionaires. The idea is simple, the AMM is essentially an automated order book that facilitates liquidity on the exchange. Uniswap was the first DEX with an AMM to emerge back in 2018. A centralised exchange doesn’t just find buyers for you, it also works with large traders to ensure that there’s enough liquidity on the exchange and you can sell your crypto virtually whenever you want. Liquidity means there’s enough supply for available demand. If liquidity is low it will be difficult for you to sell crypto, and vice versa. AMMs look to solve the liquidity problem without depending on large traders using smart contracts — self-executing computer programs that ensure liquidity on the exchange. But the benefits of having an AMM in play don’t stop with liquidity. Eliminating the middle-man also means that the transaction fees won’t change while a transaction is happening. The AMM algorithms have pre-defined requirements for an entity or individual to become a liquidity provider. Anyone who meets these criteria can become part of the liquidity pool, and hence maintain continuous trading. Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in partnership with WazirX.

What is DEX — Decentralised Exchanges give investors more control and more profit

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Investors put $50.2 million into assets backed by bitcoin in the week to September 24, the highest since April, CoinShares said on Tuesday.</li><li>Ether-backed assets saw $28.9 million worth of inflows, the most since early June.</li><li>The continued inflows suggest investors saw <keyword id="11892748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword>'s ban last week as a buying opportunity and not a deterrent.</li></ul>Investment in bitcoin hit its highest in four months in the week to September 24, when China announced it would ban trading and mining of <keyword id="11895317" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrencies" source="Orion">cryptocurrencies</keyword>, triggering an aggressive sell-off that traders used as a buying opportunity, according to CoinShares' weekly <a href="https://coinshares.com/research/digital-asset-fund-flows">report</a> on Monday. Assets backed by bitcoin drew in the most investment, with inflows of $50.2 million over the week ending September 24, the most since the week of April 19, the data showed.There was also $28.9 million worth of inflows for assets backed by ether, the most since June 7. Solana-backed assets saw inflows worth $3.9 million and cardano-backed products registered inflows of $2.6 million. These inflows continued despite China's clear ban on all <keyword id="11893898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword>-related activities on the mainland on Friday that resulted in a steep drop in crypto prices. Bitcoin<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bitcoin-price-today-ether-altcoins-china-cryptocurrency-ban-transactions-illegal-2021-9"> fell</a> almost 6% to below $42,000 and ether tumbled almost 8% to hover around $2,800 before steadily recovering in the days following."The continued inflows suggest the recent headwinds for digital assets, such as the widened China ban, were seen as buying opportunities for investors," the report said. Over the month so far, bitcoin has seen $100.9 million worth of inflows, solana has seen $59.8 million worth of inflows. Ether assets have grown by $35.1 million, with the majority coming in last week.One of the side-effects of China's ban was a swell of buying in tokens attached to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/china-crypto-ban-uniswap-sushiswap-dxdy-decentralized-exchanges-tokens-ether-2021-9">decentralized </a>exchanges, which do not rely on any kind of intermediary and which market watchers said would benefit particularly from Chinese users looking to circumvent the existing restrictions. So-called "DEX tokens" like uniswap, sushi or pancake, surged on Monday, in some cases by as much as almost 40%. Most of these platforms run on the ethereum network so, investors have tapped into this by betting heavily on the blockchain's ether token. "Sentiment has remained relatively buoyant for ethereum as the amount staked to Eth2.0 progresses," the report said.

Investors used the crypto crash after China's ban to buy the most bitcoin in four months last week: CoinShares

<ul class="summary-list"><li>As investors head into the fourth quarter, <keyword id="11961769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="altcoins" source="Orion">altcoins</keyword> to watch include Avalanche, Boost and Polygon.</li><li>Investors will sharpen their focus on real-world applications offered by blockchain networks. </li><li>The overall <keyword id="11892695" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency" source="Orion">cryptocurrency</keyword> market cap is again approaching the $2 trillion mark. </li></ul>Growth around non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance helped prices for some altcoins soar during the third quarter, and investors are looking for the next breakout as the fourth quarter begins.The global cryptocurrency market is again approaching the $2 trillion mark, as prices for Cardano's ada, solana and other altcoins have taken off, with cardano ada now the third most-traded crypto.Now in the months ahead, investors will sharpen their focus on the benefits and shortfalls emerging from recent speed and efficiency upgrades on the blockchain networks of key altcoins, Ed Moya, senior currency analyst at Oanda, told Insider. "Everyone has been focused on which altcoins are going to address that scalability concern that you have with ethereum and bitcoin," he said. "People have to understand which businesses are going to be the leaders in NFTs or smart contracts," and other operations, he said. "I think that's where the market is and education takes some time. The industry is ripe for consolidation." Here are six altcoins (in alphabetical order) experts tell Insider they'll be watching during the fourth quarter and beyond:1) Avalanche (AVAX) Market Capitalization: $14.5 billion Year-to-date performance: Up 1954% at $65.94The blockchain <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/altcoins-to-watch-in-the-avalanche-ecosystem-crypto-traders-analysts-2021-10">developed by Ava Labs</a> is a smart contracts platform for decentralized applications and its AVAX token began trading on Coinbase Pro this past week.Avalanche "is way faster than ethereum and it wants to be even faster, which is great because I think that's very important when it comes to finance and DeFi projects and applications," Tally Greenberg, head of business development at Allnodes, told Insider."It's a promising technology that basically does more for less," she said, adding that it uses a proof-of-stake system that's more energy-efficient than a proof-of-work one based on mining, she said. Steve Ehrlich, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency-asset broker Voyager Digital, told Insider he sees Avalanche as a viable alternative to ethereum. "As soon as they start adding some projects and art on their NFT network, you'll start to see a lot more consumers buying and selling NFTs," on Avalanche, he said.Ehrlich said Avalanche, as well as solana and cardano, are cheaper alternatives to ethereum, which has high fees for conducting transactions.2) <keyword id="12229631" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="boost-coin" source="Orion">Boost Coin</keyword> Fully diluted market capitalization: $53 million Year-to-date performance: Up 293% to $0.0505Launched in August, <a href="https://boostco.in/faq/">Boost Coin</a> fuels the Boost ecosystem that's centered on decentralized finance tools. Boost Swap, a decentralized exchange, is the first tool, with the company behind it saying it's similar to crypto exchanges Uniswap, SushiSwap, and PancakeSwap.Decentralized exchanges, or DEXs, offer a peer-to-peer platform where <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/china-crypto-ban-uniswap-sushiswap-dxdy-decentralized-exchanges-tokens-ether-2021-9">parties use smart contracts to execute their trades</a> and don't rely on intermediaries such as clearing houses."There's a lot of value in the exchanges market," Dr. Don Basile, CEO of Monsoon Blockchain, told Insider, highlighted in part by this year's trading debut of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/coin-stock">Coinbase</a>, now a $48 billion centralized crypto exchange.Boost's approach to connect buyers and sellers without a centralized entity is a "potentially disruptive idea," he said.Boost can be acquired by exchanging ethereum for it using Uniswap or Boost Swap. But Basile said it's too early to say whether its price is undervalued or overvalued as the coin is just a few weeks old.Meanwhile, Basile is also the founder of <a href="https://bitcoinlatinum.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bitcoin Latinum</a>, which is expected to begin trading around the week of October 21. The energy-efficient cryptocurrency is aimed at delivering faster transaction speeds and lower costs to high-growth <keyword id="11893875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets" source="Orion">markets</keyword> such as media and gaming.<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/ada-usd">3) Cardano ada</a> Market Capitalization: $69.3 billion Year-to-date performance: Up 1092% at $2.16Cardano's profile and that of its ada token, have boomed in recent months. The network last month ran its alonzo upgrade that brought <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/cardano-ada-alonzo-upgrade-defi-smart-contracts-charles-hoskinson-2021-9">smart contract capability to its network</a>, a move that could bolster its competitiveness with ethereum."A lot of our customers hold a lot of cardano on our platform so we see quite an increase of people being interested," in the network, Ehrlich said. And after recently being introduced to "some pretty cool" art built on Cardano, he thinks the network will make some headway soon in the NFT space. Moya sees a lot of investors mixed on Cardano ada after its price climbed to $3. But he added, "There are still a lot of institutional players that are eyeing it as interesting altcoin to hold."4) Crypto.com Coin CRO Market Capitalization: $4.2 billion Year-to-date performance: Up 183% at $0.16531<a href="https://crypto.com/price/crypto-com-coin">Crypto.com</a> is a cryptocurrency exchange and consumer financial services company whose Coin serves as the token for Crypto.com's Chain, a decentralized open-source blockchain launched in March. CRO is used for staking, payments, and settlements, said Greenberg, who thinks CRO is undervalued."It's in use on a daily basis," in part through Crypto.com's prepaid Visa card and Crypto.com, she said, adding that its Chain network has a sustainability goal of becoming carbon negative by next year. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/doge-usd">5) Dogecoin</a> Market Capitalization: $27.3 billion Year-to-date performance: Up 4307% at $0.2064Oanda's Moya put the hugely popular meme coin on his watch list to see if it eventually crashes, which he thinks would actually be a positive sign."There are too many coins that don't have the financing, that don't have the infrastructure in place to be a legitimate investment," he said. "It's hard to go from a meme coin to a legitimate coin." Tesla boss Elon Musk in August backed billionaire investor Mark Cuban's claim that dogecoin is the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/elon-musk-backs-mark-cubans-claim-that-dogecoin-is-the-best-cryptocurrency-as-a-medium-of-exchange/articleshow/85349880.cms">strongest cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange</a>. Cuban's NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks, <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1426029215292530692?s=20">accepts dogecoin as a payment vehicle</a>. 6) Polygon (previously MATIC) Market Capitalization: $7.6 billion Year-to-date performance: Down 27% at $1.236<a href="https://polygon.technology/">Polygon</a> is designed to scale ethereum chains and develop the blockchain's infrastructure. It's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/mark-cuban-invests-polygon-ethereum-crypto-platform-2021-5">caught the eye of Mark Cuban</a> who earlier this year added the platform to his investment portfolio.Polygon, originally called Matic, created the Matic token that's used on transactions on the network. Matic is also among the roughly 40 altcoins on the watch list for Allnodes' Greenberg. She sees Matic as undervalued as it has low network fees and just enough volatility to benefit trading."For those who are looking for a less aggressive investment strategy, there's a staking opportunity. So it's a well-round blockchain and cryptocurrency."Polygon uses the proof-of-stake system of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/proof-of-stake-exchange-coins-outperformed-crypto-market-goldman-sachs-2021-8">securing a cryptocurrency's network</a> under which users put forward or "stake" some of their coins to gain the right to verify transactions and, in exchange, earn more coins. Greenberg said users recently could make an annual return of 13.65% on their investments, "which is huge."

Here are 6 altcoins experts are watching as the 4th quarter kicks off

Business Insider/Antonio Villas-BoasSamsung has a deep history of testing wild ideas with new products and features. There were the "touchless" controls in the Galaxy S4. Curved TVs that are more expensive without adding much of a benefit. Even refrigerators with tablet computers built into the door.Samsung's latest trick: turning your smartphone into a full-on desktop computer. That trick is also tied to the very obvious question: "Why would I need that?"The theory is that smartphones are so powerful that they're the only computer you need in many cases. So why not create a way to make it that one-gadget-to-rule-them-all?This isn't a new concept. Microsoft gave it a shot with the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-continuum-stream-full-windows-desktop-from-your-phone-2015-4">Continuum feature built into Windows 10 Phones</a>. But since no one really has a Windows Phone these days, the feature went nowhere. And Motorola even tried it way back in 2011 with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/motorola-atrix-4g-review-2011-2">the Atrix</a>, an Android phone that could power a laptop.Samsung is giving the idea another go with DeX, a $150 dock for the Galaxy S8 that lets you attach a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and run a lightweight, custom desktop operating system.Business Insider/Antonio Villas-BoasAt first glance, it looks very familiar. There's a desktop with wallpaper, app icons, and a mouse pointer for navigating. If you weren't paying attention you'd think you were looking at a Mac desktop screen.But this is an entirely different kind of operating system that's loosely based on Android. You can run all your Android apps in DeX's desktop mode, and do other smartphone-like stuff such as making calls or checking notifications.For the most part, it works pretty well, as long as you stick with Samsung's own apps (web browser, email, etc.) and the small handful of third-party Android apps that have been optimized for DeX, like Microsoft Office.Everything else feels janky though. DeX lets you run any other Android app, but they're squeezed into a smartphone-shaped window without the option to make them full screen. For some Android apps that have been configured to work in tablet mode, like Slack, this is OK. But it gets really awkward with just about every other app.Business Insider/Antonio Villas-BoasGoogle has tried over and over to turn its Chrome and Android operating systems into desktop replacements with mixed results. Samsung appears to be jumping the gun a bit with DeX, and it feels like the company is putting the cart before the horse. Maybe one day we'll just have one gadget that we carry with us everywhere and have it adapt to what we want to do. But today, there simply isn't the app support and raw computing power for that to happen.DeX is a fine solution if you just need something for emailing, writing, and browsing the web, but I don't see this gaining enough third-party support to become a broad enough platform for a large number of people to use. At best, DeX is an extremely niche product. It works fine, but it's not something I'd recommend for most people. The Galaxy S8 is a great phone, something you should definitely consider buying. But when it comes to add-ons like DeX, it's still clear that no one has a product that can beat the tired and true laptop/smartphone combination. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-galaxy-s8-apple-iphone-google-pixel-smartphone-2017-4">Here's the best smartphone camera you can buy</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Despite Samsung's best efforts, the smartphone can't replace your computer yet

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11899102" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="decentralized-finance" source="Orion">Decentralized finance</keyword> or <keyword id="11899100" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="defi" source="Orion">DeFi</keyword> is a financial system that reimagines financial transactions by removing intermediaries and is based on blockchain technology, typically Ethereum.</li><li>Various financial transactions are possible with DeFi's 'smart contracts' that execute financial transactions under certain conditions.</li><li>There are many different decentralized applications, or dApps, and uses within DeFi that open accessibility but come with risk.</li></ul>Decentralized finance or DeFi is a global financial system that's available on blockchains that are public — most often <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-ethereum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ethereum</a>. "DeFi stands for decentralized finance. In simple words it stands for self-custody finance. Unlike traditional finance where a company, bank, fund is responsible for your money, in DeFi no one but you has access to it," explains Anton Mozgovoy, co-founder of <a href="https://viamover.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mover</a>, a DeFi Savings platform.Through this new emerging technology, DeFi expands what's possible with cryptocurrency and moves beyond just currency and creates sophisticated systems with an abundance of uses with the creation of applications, typically referred to as decentralized apps, or dApps, which we'll get into later. DeFi was coined in 2018 by a group of entrepreneurs and Ethereum developers who wanted to open up finance applications from traditional systems. The abbreviation sounds like defy, which is intentional.<h2>How DeFi works </h2>DeFi, previously referred to as "open finance," takes out the middleman in financial transactions. So instead of having your bank or credit card issuer be the intermediary between you and a merchant when you make a purchase, you use the digital currency and have ownership of it to use directly. DeFi is primarily based on Ethereum, the top cryptocurrency next to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoin</a>.Here are the main tenets of DeFi: <ul><li>There are no intermediaries, so no banks or institutions overseeing your money </li><li>There's a level of transparency, as the code is available for anyone's review </li><li>There are open networks that transcend geographic borders </li><li>There are many applications for users, primarily based on Ethereum</li></ul>Though DeFi is usually a main player in the cryptocurrency conversation, it goes beyond creating an alternative digital currency or value. DeFi works to replace the role of traditional financial systems through its smart contracts. "DeFi is all about code. With the help of things called smart contracts, your money is programmed to perform various [functions]. It creates a unique opportunity for anyone with a computer and internet connection to participate in the global economy," notes Mozgovoy.One of the most attractive parts of DeFi for people is that it eliminates the barrier to entry for many of these financial transactions. You no longer have a government or corporation manage your money or need to qualify for certain financial products. Using traditional financial systems, you apply for a loan and may be rejected based on your credit. You have a bank account or investment brokerage with a company that oversees your money. With DeFi's smart contracts, certain financial transactions are executed after specific conditions are met. The smart contracts allow for borrowing, lending, and more and the terms of the transaction are literally written in the code. While that makes these transactions easy-to-use and more efficient, it can also make them more susceptible to errors that can't be fixed. Because of these smart contracts and the ability for Ethereum to create applications, DeFi can be used:<ul><li>As a lending network, which offers peer-to-peer borrowing and lending </li><li>Through decentralized exchanges, where users can exchange one type of currency for another. For example, trading ether for US dollars </li><li>For betting, where users bet on potential outcomes of certain events </li><li>As <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stablecoin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stablecoins</a>, which connect a type of cryptocurrency to a more traditional type of currency like the US dollar, in order to lower price volatility and add more stability </li></ul><h2>What are the main elements of DeFi?</h2>There are certain DeFi "building blocks" that create a software stack, with every layer building upon another. These layers work together to create DeFi and its related applications that serve users in a variety of different ways. If one layer is off, so are the other layers. The five layers that make up DeFi include:<ol><li>The settlement layer, which is the foundational layer of the blockchain and its specific native asset. For example, Ethereum is the network on the blockchain and ether is the native currency on that blockchain. This layer provides security and a set of rules to follow. </li><li>The asset layer, which refers to all the tokens and digital assets that are native to the particular blockchain.</li><li>The protocol layer, which sets the protocols or guidelines for smart contracts. </li><li> The application layer, which brings the protocols to life with a user interface that is consumer-facing. </li><li>The aggregation layer, which consists of aggregators that connect the various dApps and protocols which make up the foundation for borrowing, lending on and other financial services. </li></ol><h2>Pros and cons of DeFi</h2>The rising popularity of DeFi and other cryptocurrency make it seem like an attractive investment. But it's important to understand what you're getting into before taking the plunge, and understand the benefits and drawbacks. "In DeFi you hold your money, you control where your money goes and how it's spent. DeFi is efficient, since everything is programmable, in a click of a button you can perform complex transactions," explains Mozgovoy.The accessibility factor can remove some barriers, but there are a number of cons to be aware of. "DeFi is new and experimental. Since everything is code, it can have bugs. Bugs lead to money loss or hacks. DeFi is new and complicated," says Mozgovoy. "User experience can still be rough. Learning curve is still steep, but it will change." <table><tbody><tr><td>Pros</td><td>Cons </td></tr><tr><td>There is no intermediary between transactions </td><td>If you forget your password, you can lose your assets since there is no governing body</td></tr><tr><td>May offer more accessibility for loans and insurance without a credit score </td><td>Lack of consumer protections </td></tr><tr><td>May offer higher interest rates</td><td>High volatility and risk </td></tr></tbody></table>All investing comes with some level of risk and DeFi is no different. But any cryptocurrency or DeFi application may have a higher level of risk due to difficulties with regulation (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/crenshaw-defi-20211109" target="_blank" rel="noopener">though the SEC is looking to fix that</a>) and potential scams. A good rule of thumb is to not invest any money you can't afford to lose.<h2>How to invest in DeFi</h2>If you're interested in investing in DeFi, there are a number of ways to do it. "To start in DeFi you need native currencies — like ETH, AVAX, BNB, FTM, MATIC and others — as every transaction will require gas. You can purchase those through various exchanges, wallets, and crypto services," explains Mozgovoy.You can start with a decentralized exchange (DEX) such as Uniswap. According to <a href="https://uniswap.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">their site</a>, you can "Swap, earn, and build on the leading decentralized crypto trading protocol."It's important to keep in mind that since everything is relatively new with DeFi and there is no governing body, be careful about what you invest in. "In DeFi anyone can launch their own project, token, contract — that is why you should be aware of scams and low quality projects," notes Mozgovoy. Aside from being aware of scams, in practicality, Mozgovoy states that with DeFi users can save, lend, or take part in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/derivative" target="_blank" rel="noopener">derivatives</a> and exchanges.Quick tip: Read about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/proof-of-stake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Proof of Stake</a>, which is used as a way to confirm crypto transactions, and what it means here.<h2>The financial takeaway</h2>DeFi is an expansive financial ecosystem that strives to take out the middleman and allow for financial transactions between users. Currently, there is a lot of hype around DeFi and crypto. If you want to take part, be sure to understand not only the rewards but also the risks before getting started.

DeFi: The peer-to-peer financial system based primarily on Ethereum

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Multicoin CapitalKyle Samani, cofounder of Multicoin Capital.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-and-other-cryptocurrencies-plunged-again-2018-12?r=UK&amp;IR=T">The crypto market was in tumult last year,</a> but that doesn't mean it's all doom and gloom.</li><li>Business Insider spoke with Kyle Samani,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kyle-samani-gives-career-advice-2018-11"> the founder of $75 million crypto fund Multicoin Capital</a>, to get his take on the key themes he's following this year in the crypto space. </li></ul>Kyle Samani is cofounder and managing partner of Multicoin Capital, a $75 million fund based in Austin, Texas, that exclusively invests in the crypto space. It's<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/kyle-samani/?list=30under30-finance#6fd7cd077764"> backed by mainstream investors</a> like Marc Andreessen, the Andreessen Horowitz partner, and David Sacks, the former PayPal exec and Yammer CEO.Samani recently spoke to Business Insider about the biggest trends he's following in 2019 in the crypto space. The growth of decentralized exchanges Samani is closely watching Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by adjusted trade volume, <a href="https://medium.com/binanceexchange/watch-our-new-binance-dex-sneak-peek-8b942cc733d2https://medium.com/binanceexchange/watch-our-new-binance-dex-sneak-peek-8b942cc733d2">which is poised to </a>unveil its decentralized exchange early this year. It'll be a massive shift in the crypto space, Samani says.In contrast to centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) allow investors to hold their own digital assets, instead of leaving them to middlemen to custody. In addition, DEXs are praised for generating lower, or even zero, trading fees, greater security and more private transactions. Although a growing number of decentralized exchanges have launched over the past couple of years, they haven't yet generated mass adoption. But that may change as Binance enters into the space, said Samani. Binance, which processes more daily trading volume than top US exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini, already has an established brand. So it may be able to lure customers to use its decentralized exchange, Samani said. "Binance realizes that the greatest disruptive threat to their business is decentralized exchanges," he said. "On a long enough time scale, they believe it is likely to become a dominant form of exchange. As such, they're aiming to disrupt themselves by pioneering here. I expect that they will create incentives to encourage customers to trade on the decentralized exchange instead of the centralized one, and will actively bridge liquidity pools."Once Binance unveils its decentralized exchange, others may follow, he said.Still, decentralized exchanges in the US must comply with existing securities laws. The SEC in November <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-258">brought an enforcement action</a> against EtherDelta, a decentralized crypto exchange, for operating as an unregistered national securities exchange. "Whether it's decentralized or not, whether it's on a smart contract or not, what matters is it's an exchange," Robert Cohen, SEC's Cyber Unit Chief, told <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2018/11/09/new-sec-cyber-chief-puts-cryptocurrency-exchanges-on-notice/#5c06eed82fb8">Forbes</a> in November. Adoption of blockchain products Samani also expects to see a number of high profile blockchain products launch this year and attract large group of customers. One such project is Tari, an open source project that aims to disrupt the ticketing industry. Built on top of the Monero network, the company will provide a platform to issue and manage non-fungible assets like tickets, loyalty points, and in-game items. A benefit of using this technology in ticketing is embedding transfer restrictions on concert tickets, which could eradicate the ticket scalping market.Challenges to Ethereum Samani believes that a group of well-funded projects, like Dfinity and Cosmos, could pose a threat to Ethereum's leadership as the largest smart contract platform. Ether, which is underpinned by the Ethereum network, is currently the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap. "All of the new blockchains are aiming to challenge Ethereum," Samani said. "I expect by the end of the year the percentage of total developers building on Ethereum will be lower than it's right now, simply because of the competition," he said. "At the end of 2019, I still expect Ethereum to be the market leader among smart contract platforms. But there is a real probability that by the end of 2020, this is no longer the case."<a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/wall-st-insider&amp;hash=f4e91136c13f3c40c496d77bc7347502">Sign up here</a> for our weekly newsletter Wall Street Insider, a behind-the-scenes look at the stories dominating banking, business, and big deals.Get the latest Bitcoin price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/BTC-USD">here.&gt;&gt;</a>

The founder of a $75 million crypto fund shares the top trends he's watching in 2019

The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insiderpicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Insider Picks</a> team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UEZ36W/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_12318_best-mousepad-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B000UEZ36W&amp;linkId=b996e49b7af0a0f642e8dcbd0aac1c24" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>SteelSeries/Business Insider</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Mouse pad surfaces affect how your mouse tracks. Soft pads increase drag for more precision and hard surfaces allow for quicker movements.</li><li>The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NJUT306/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_12318_best-mousepad-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B00NJUT306&amp;linkId=fc3f8601b57b09d7c8a3510705562f48" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SteelSeries DeX's</a> unique 3D texture reduces drag so your mouse tracking is fluid and responsive, but it's also soft for hours of comfortable use, virtually eliminating the trade-off between comfort and speed.</li></ul>Most people probably don't think too much about mouse pads. Given modern mouse technology, this is actually quite understandable. Old-school ball mouses (remember those?) were barely usable without a good mouse pad, but the optical sensors on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-computer-mouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">today's mouses</a> are much more forgiving when it comes to working surfaces. As long as it's smooth and flat, it'll probably work.Nonetheless, if you've ever used an optical mouse without a pad for an extended period of time, you've almost certainly realized what you were missing. A smooth, tactile surface is still a necessity - even with the greatly enhanced sensitivity and accuracy of optical mouse sensors - whether you're doing precise tasks like graphic design and gaming, or just tackling another long day of working on the computer.Whereas ball mouses generally required a softer surface for traction, sensitive optical sensors have given rise to a growing number of mouse pad designs that offer different benefits. When it comes to pad surfaces, there's a general trade-off between speed and accuracy: Softer or rougher textures will create more friction than a hard, slick surface, allowing for more precision (as well as creating more drag), whereas a smoother mouse pad will allow for quicker movements (such as while playing a fast-paced video game, for example) at the cost of accuracy.In other words: Your mouse will move faster on a hard/smooth surface, thus making it easier to make large cursor swipes quickly, and it'll move more slowly on a soft surface, thus giving you more precise control over your cursor. How much this matters to you really depends on your needs. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-gaming-mouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gamers</a> are admittedly more fussy about this stuff than most people. Also note that softer mouse pads will naturally be more comfortable to use for long periods of time than hard ones.Whatever your needs, we've covered just about all the bases below. These picks include everything from a no-nonsense budget-friendly mouse pad to ones featuring the latest innovations in surface design, so if you're looking to upgrade your setup or just replace an old worn-out mouse pad, then be sure to read through them all to see which one is right for you.<h2>Here are the best mouse pads you can buy:</h2><ul class="summary-list"><li>Best mouse pad overall: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NJUT306/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_12318_best-mousepad-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B00NJUT306&amp;linkId=fc3f8601b57b09d7c8a3510705562f48" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SteelSeries DeX</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NJUT306/"></a>Best mouse pad with wrist support: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ZHB2HS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_12318_best-mousepad-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B000ZHB2HS&amp;linkId=62feb16b01756615a4d83a0393c9f4cf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3M Precise</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ZHB2HS/"></a>Best oversized mouse pad: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J2EF4K6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_12318_best-mousepad-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B00J2EF4K6&amp;linkId=b29eec97961f65808a5c6994724fd7c4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glorious PC Gaming Race extended mat</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J2EF4K6/"></a>Best hard mouse pad: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014W3FMP8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_12318_best-mousepad-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B014W3FMP8&amp;linkId=edf97a2c50afa08296bec9c9466d6d1a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Corsair MM600</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-MM600-Aluminum-Supports-Control/dp/B014W3FMP8/"></a>Best budget mouse pad: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UEZ36W/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_12318_best-mousepad-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B000UEZ36W&amp;linkId=b996e49b7af0a0f642e8dcbd0aac1c24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SteelSeries QcK</a></li></ul><h3>Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.</h3><a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/ci/insider-picks">Subscribe to our newsletter.</a> Find all the best offers at our <a href="https://coupons.businessinsider.com/">Coupons page</a>. Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insiderpicks">Insider Picks</a> team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.

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