These Projects Are Exposing DeFi to a Whole New Audience

Decentralized finance (DeFi) promises to liberate the masses from the shackles of centralized financial institutions with a range of protocols, tools and technologies that empower users to take control of their finances.

But despite the explosive growth in both the number and variety of DeFi platforms, as well as the DeFi userbase, less than 1% of the world population has ever interacted with DeFi applications.

Nonetheless, work is underway to make DeFi more appealing to the broader population, and the next wave of more accessible and capable DeFi platforms are now on the way.

Right now, the vast majority of transaction volume in the DeFi space is associated with decentralized exchange (DEX) platforms. These allow users to exchange digital assets in a trustless manner over the blockchain using smart contracts.

However, while DEXs have become extraordinarily popular, their adoption has been largely restricted to those already experienced with using DeFi tools and technologies — which remains just a small fraction of the crypto user base.

But Polkadex is building what could be the first DEX that truly appeals to the majority — it’s known as Polkadex Orderbook.

As a non-custodial layer-2 based exchange built on the Polkadex Network, Polkadex Orderbook is designed to address some of the inefficiencies currently seen in the DEX landscape — namely low speed, high slippage, and high fees. It achieves by building on a high-speed blockchain platform known as Substrate, which enables high-frequency trading and forkless upgrades among other things.

Polkadex Orderbook also incorporates several novel features that could make it the first DEX to appeal to the masses. One of these is its asset delegation feature — which allows users to delegate their funds to another accomplished trader or fund who can then trade on their behalf. Moreover, for the more advanced traders, Polkedex Orderbook will support on-chain trading bots, allowing users to automate their strategies without needing to worry about front-runners.

The platform will become the first DEX to support fiat trading, allowing practically anybody to purchase assets using their credit or debit card — opening cryptocurrency investments to even those with zero experience in the industry.

Yield farming has quickly become one of the most popular ways to not only gain exposure to new projects but also generate a yield on idle assets.

However, much like decentralized exchanges, yield farm platforms are largely used by those that are deeply familiar with the DeFi landscape and have already developed a strong risk tolerance. This, because while many yield farms generate a net positive yield, many do not — after all, users always need to contend with volatility while their assets are staked on the farm.

As you might expect, the potential to lose money is a major obstacle to adoption, meaning many less experienced users may avoid these platforms.

But with the advent of Delta.theta, yield farms could be about to get a whole lot more attractive, since the platform allows users to easily take out protection against a potential loss on their assets — ensuring they do not lose money due to volatility while yield farming.

It does this by providing a simple-to-use options trading platform that users can use to take out protection for their asset of choice in a few clicks. By giving yield farmers an opportunity to easily hedge their risks, as well as providing a platform where users can buy and sell options in an intuitive environment, Delta.theta could be poised to help catalyze another wave of DeFi adoption among more risk-averse yield farmers.

As its name suggests, decentralized finance is built around the premise of providing decentralized financial infrastructure that can offer an alternative to traditional centralized financial applications and products.

But as we touched on briefly, the rapid interest in DeFi has at times essentially crippled the Ethereum blockchain, rendering many DeFi applications unusable or undesirable during these periods. This is further compounded by the fact that Ethereum is the dominant platform for developing decentralized applications — despite its scaling issues — leaving users with few options during times of congestion.

But developers will soon have an alternate option, thanks to the Substrate-based ParaState platform. ParaState features full support for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which allows developers to continue building using the tools they’re familiar with, before launching on the high-speed ParaState chain.

Beyond this, the platform features an entire stack of built-in DeFi modules to help developers bootstrap their applications and get up and running quickly. As an upcoming Polkadot parachain, ParaState will benefit from the full advantages of the interoperable ecosystem of Polkadot chains — enabling developers to build cross-chain applications with far greater appeal than previously possible.

With many users simply avoiding DeFi platforms due to high speeds and congestion, ParaState could represent an attractive entry point for those that were previously on the fence about DeFi.