A crypto-exchange founder makes his case for decentralised finance
Hayden Adams argues for its potential in light of FTX’s implosion
THE DEMISE of FTX, the crypto exchange run by Sam Bankman-Fried, is horrifying, but it’s a tale as old as time. Opaque processes and intermediation concealed extreme leverage, poor risk management and alleged fraud. The Economist recently asked whether, in the wake of FTX’s collapse, crypto could be useful for anything other than scams and speculation. The decentralised finance movement, or “DeFi”, which is built on the technology underlying cryptocurrencies, is nascent. But it offers transparent protocols that also enshrine inviolable user protections.
This article appeared in the By Invitation section of the print edition under the headline “A crypto-exchange founder makes his case for decentralised finance”
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