Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Architecture, Mechanisms, Use Cases, and Systemic Risks
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystem showing architecture, mechanisms, use cases, and systemic risks Executive Summary Decentralized Finance (DeFi) represents a structural reconfiguration of how financial systems can be designed, governed, and operated in a digitally native environment. Rather than relying on centralized intermediaries such as banks, clearing houses, or custodial institutions, DeFi proposes a framework where financial logic is embedded directly into software protocols and executed on distributed networks. These protocols aim to provide financial services—such as trading, lending, settlement, and asset issuance—through transparent, programmable, and permissionless systems.