Decentralizing Finance


Book Description

A Practitioner's Guide to Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Digital Assets, and Distributed Ledger Technology In Decentralizing Finance: How DeFi, Digital Assets and Distributed Ledger Technology Are Transforming Finance, blockchain and digital assets expert Kenneth Bok offers an insightful exploration of the current state of decentralized finance (DeFi). As distributed ledger technology (DLT) increasingly optimizes and democratizes financial ecosystems worldwide, this book serves as a comprehensive guide to the most salient aspects of the ongoing transformation. The text delves into both crypto-native DeFi and DLT applications in regulated financial markets, providing: Comprehensive analysis of crypto-native DeFi across key areas such as its competitive landscape, infrastructure, financial instruments, activities, and applications Coverage of key risks, mitigation strategies, and regulatory frameworks, analyzed through the perspective of international financial standard-setting bodies Insight into how DLT is reshaping traditional financial systems through innovations like central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenized assets, tokenized deposits, and institutional-grade DeFi platforms In a world where financial technology is rewriting the fundamental code of digital currency, the future of money is undeniably DLT-centric. How will this seismic shift interact with existing financial infrastructures? Can decentralization and traditional banking coexist and potentially synergize? This book endeavors to answer these pressing questions for financial professionals navigating these transformative times. Authored by a former Goldman Sachs trader, past Head of Growth at Zilliqa, and an early Ethereum investor with extensive experience in both traditional finance and the crypto ecosystem, Decentralizing Finance provides you with an insider's perspective on the revolution that is DeFi.




DeFi and the Future of Finance


Book Description

During the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, our financial infrastructure failed. Governments bailed out the very institutions that let the economy down. This episode spurred a serious rethink of our financial system. Does it make any sense that it takes two days to settle a stock transaction? Why do retailers, operating on razor thin margins, have to pay 3% for every customer credit card swipe? Why does it take two days to transfer money from a bank account to a brokerage—or any other company? Why are savings rates miniscule or negative? Why is it so difficult for entrepreneurs to get financing at traditional banks? In DeFi and the Future of Finance, Campbell R. Harvey, Ashwin Ramachandran and Joey Santoro, introduce the new world of Decentralized Finance. The book argues that the current financial landscape is ripe for disruption and we are seeing, in real time, the reinvention of finance. The authors provide the reader with a clear assessment of the problems with the current financial system and how DeFi solves many of these problems. The essence of DeFi is that we interact with peers—there is no brick and mortar and all of the associated costs. Savings and lending are reinvented. Trading takes place with algorithms far removed from traditional brokerages. The book conducts a deep dive on some of the most innovative protocols such as Uniswap and Compound. Many of the companies featured in the book you might not have heard of—however, you will in the future. As with any new technology, there are a myriad of risks and the authors carefully catalogue these risks and assess which ones can be successfully mitigated. Ideally suited for people working in any part of the finance industry as well as financial policy makers, DeFi and the Future of Finance gives readers a vision of the future. The world of finance will fundamentally be changed over the coming decade. The book enables you to become part of the disruption – not the target of the disruption.




Fiscal Decentralization and Local Finance in Developing Countries


Book Description

This book draws on experiences in developing countries to bridge the gap between the conventional textbook treatment of fiscal decentralization and the actual practice of subnational government finance. The extensive literature about the theory and practice is surveyed and longstanding problems and new questions are addressed. It focuses on the key choices that must be made in decentralizing, on how economic and political factors shape the choices that countries make, and on how, by paying more attention to the need for a more comprehensive approach and the critical connections between different components of decentralization reform, everyone involved might get more for their money.




Decentralized Finance Explained


Book Description

Blockchain-built dApps, protocols, smart contracts, and digital assets are the key elements of decentralized finance. The Ethereum framework is the primary choice for the DeFi application considering the adaptability and the level of development, but that doesn't imply it's the only blockchain forum. DeFi is a development in the cryptocurrency industry, aimed at recreating conventional banking services without centralized technologies. Bitcoin itself is a prototypical illustration of DeFi; the majority of other cryptocurrencies depend on central organizers or issuers. DeFi is implemented via dApps, typically installed on either a blockchain such as Ethereum or a tangle such as IOTA. Decentralization suggests that there is no single point of failure since similar records are kept across a peer-to-peer network throughout a plethora of computers. Since it's unregulated, it is also available to all regardless of their income or where they stay. And, while a payment processing firm or a bank can close an unseemly customer's account, blockchains are immune to surveillance.




Decentralizing Governance


Book Description

A Brookings Institution Press and Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation publication The trend toward greater decentralization of governance activities, now accepted as commonplace in the West, has become a worldwide movement. This international development—largely a product of globalization and democratization—is clearly one of the key factors reshaping economic, political, and social conditions throughout the world. Rather than the top-down, centralized decisionmaking that characterized communist economies and Third World dictatorships in the twentieth century, today's world demands flexibility, adaptability, and the autonomy to bring those qualities to bear. In this thought-provoking book, the first in a new series on Innovations in Governance, experts in government and public management trace the evolution and performance of decentralization concepts, from the transfer of authority within government to the sharing of power, authority, and responsibilities among broader governance institutions. This movement is not limited to national government—it also affects subnational governments, NGOs, private corporations, and even civil associations. The contributors assess the emerging concepts of decentralization (e.g., devolution, empowerment, capacity building, and democratic governance). They detail the factors driving the movement, including political changes such as the fall of the Iron Curtain and the ascendance of democracy; economic factors such as globalization and outsourcing; and technological advances (e.g. increased information technology and electronic commerce). Their analysis covers many different contexts and regions. For example, William Ascher of Claremont McKenna College chronicles how decentralization concepts are playing out in natural resources policy, while Kadmeil Wekwete (United Nations) outlines the specific challenges to decentralizing governance in sub-Saharan Africa. In each case, contributors explore the objectives of a decentralizing strategy as well as the benefits and difficulties that will likely result.




Decentralized Finance (DeFi) 2023


Book Description

Cryptocurrency's promise is to make money and payments all around accessible to anyone, regardless of where they are on the planet. The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) or Open Finance development makes that promise a stride further. Imagine a global, open option in contrast to each financial service you use today — investment funds, loans, trading, insurance and more are accessible to anybody in the world with a cell phone and internet connection. This is presently conceivable on smart contract blockchains, like Ethereum. Smart contracts are programs running on the blockchain that can execute consequently when certain conditions are met. These smart contracts empower developers to work undeniably with more modern functionality than essentially sending and accepting cryptocurrency. These projects are what we currently call decentralized apps or dapps. You can think about a dapp as an app that is based on decentralized innovation, instead of being built and constrained by a solitary, unified substance or organization. Become accustomed to this word, dapp, you'll be seeing it a ton from now into the foreseeable future. While a portion of these concepts may sound cutting edge, automated loans negotiated straightforwardly between two strangers in different parts of the world, without a bank in the center a large number of these dapps are now live today. There are DeFi dapps that permit you to make stable coins (digital currency whose worth is fixed to the US dollar), loan out money and earn interest on your crypto, apply for a loan, trade one asset for another, go long or short assets, and carry out computerized, advanced investment strategies.




Decentralized Finance (DeFi) & Metaverse For Beginners 2 Books in 1 2022


Book Description

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) 2022 Cryptocurrency's promise is to make money and payments all around accessible to anyone, regardless of where they are on the planet. The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) or Open Finance development makes that promise a stride further. Imagine a global, open option in contrast to each financial service you use today — investment funds, loans, trading, insurance and more are accessible to anybody in the world with a cell phone and internet connection. This is presently conceivable on smart contract blockchains, like Ethereum. Smart contracts are programs running on the blockchain that can execute consequently when certain conditions are met. These smart contracts empower developers to work undeniably with more modern functionality than essentially sending and accepting cryptocurrency. These projects are what we currently call decentralized apps or dapps. You can think about a dapp as an app that is based on decentralized innovation, instead of being built and constrained by a solitary, unified substance or organization. Become accustomed to this word, dapp, you'll be seeing it a ton from now into the foreseeable future. While a portion of these concepts may sound cutting edge, automated loans negotiated straightforwardly between two strangers in different parts of the world, without a bank in the center a large number of these dapps are now live today. There are DeFi dapps that permit you to make stable coins (digital currency whose worth is fixed to the US dollar), loan out money and earn interest on your crypto, apply for a loan, trade one asset for another, go long or short assets, and carry out computerized, advanced investment strategies. Metaverse For Beginners 2022 When people talk about the future, they usually mean virtual reality. The reason is that when you say "the future," most people think of science fiction, and nearly all SF takes place in a virtual space. The word metaverse is actually an old term for cyberspace–the virtual environment that exists on computers. So, you could argue that the metaverse and cyberspace are virtually the same things. The word metaverse originally meant just one thing: a synonym for the word universe. Now, it means a lot of things, some contradictory. Metaverse has the slick ring of the future around it, but in reality, it refers to past or present realities, not just a future vision. The term is thrown around so much that you can't trust what it means. What we call the metaverse might be better termed the internet-on-steroids or something more accurate and less sexy-sounding! The metaverse is a little bit like virtual reality, except not quite. It's a confusing term these days. That's because, in the 90s, Neal Stephenson (of Snow Crash fame) imagined the metaverse as a network of connected 3D spaces that users could interact with using VR goggles and haptic feedback devices. The metaverse is the general term for all digital universes being connected. We are just starting to build these worlds, and it’s easy to get sidetracked by the technologies that we’re using to build them, (which are sometimes quite new.) Just as an aside, remember how every startup in 1983 used a Commodore 64 as its main computer? Even with that amazing machine, no one really predicted anything like what the internet would become. Hey everyone, I'm doing a think piece that looks at the future of VR. I'm really interested to hear from people on this one! What would you like technology to do for you in the metaverse? What new activities and experiences do you most want developing? The main aim of this piece is to get a better understanding of what we actually want the future to be. The metaverse can't become real until someone builds it with code. Until then, the metaverse is whatever we imagine it to be while we are building it together.




Disrupting Finance


Book Description

This open access Pivot demonstrates how a variety of technologies act as innovation catalysts within the banking and financial services sector. Traditional banks and financial services are under increasing competition from global IT companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon and PayPal whilst facing pressure from investors to reduce costs, increase agility and improve customer retention. Technologies such as blockchain, cloud computing, mobile technologies, big data analytics and social media therefore have perhaps more potential in this industry and area of business than any other. This book defines a fintech ecosystem for the 21st century, providing a state-of-the art review of current literature, suggesting avenues for new research and offering perspectives from business, technology and industry.




Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology


Book Description

This key textbook examines the financial growth and success of digital assets in the contemporary economy. As digital assets and other blockchain applications mature, and regulatory authorities work hard to keep pace, three leading attorneys in the field invite students to consider the legal frameworks pertinent to regulating this new method of exchange. In this, the first textbook of its kind, the authors explore the growth of smart contracts, the application of securities laws to token sales, the regulation of virtual currency businesses, the taxation of digital assets and the intersection of digital assets and criminal law.




Decentralization and decentralized education finance in Egypt (2007-2013)


Book Description

Over the period 2007–2013, a series of undertakings were made to introduce fundamental elements of decentralized education finance to Egypt. In 2009, 8.4M Egyptian pounds (EGP) of the Government of Egypt’s (GOE) budget was decentralized to every primary school in three pilot governorates. By 2013, EGP 1.2B of the GOE’s money had been decentralized nationwide. This paper describes what these undertakings strived to achieve, what specifically was done to achieve these objectives, the degree to which these objectives were achieved, the reasons why they were achieved to the degree they were with particular attention paid to the institutional and political context within which these undertakings unfolded. The account of the technical work that was undertaken to decentralize these funds is important, but more important is the account of the interplay between the technical work, the fact that this work supported a GOE-led initiative, and the volatile political environment—pre-revolution, revolution, and post-revolution Egypt—in which the work was done for it is here where important lessons about reform emerge.