Decentralized Finance (and What It Means for Regulators)
Just this month, Bitcoin and Ethereum—two of the most valuable cryptocurrencies—reached all-time highs in prices. The upsurge of cryptocurrencies in recent years has spurred on a new financial ecosystem—one built around blockchain, the same technology used by cryptocurrencies. Its users call it decentralized finance—DeFi for short—and it promises a financial system without traditional financial institutions,…