Lumia (LUMIA) revolutionizes RWA tokenization with DeFi liquidity, MEV protection, and zk-rollup technology.

Real-world assets (RWAs) are quickly becoming a leading topic within the blockchain ecosystem, with many protocols and chains starting to offer asset tokenization services. However, many of these solutions are based on simply moving a variety of physical and digital assets to a 

 environment without regard for how these tokenized on-chain products will be further utilized. As a result, after companies tokenize their assets on-chain, they realize that the lack of liquidity is hampering the assets' further circulation and adoption.

 project that has taken a much more comprehensive approach to asset tokenization. The platform allows businesses to tokenize various RWAs, including a diverse range of commodities, and provides ways to boost their liquidity and applications within the 

 (DeFi) realm. Based on Polygon's modular 

 (Polygon CDK), Lumia provides a robust, secure, compliant, cost-effective and scalable infrastructure to put RWAs to active use within the world of web3.

Having started its operations under the name of 

 (ORN) as an Ethereum (ETH)-–based app that aggregated liquidity from various 

 (DEX) exchanges, the project rebranded to Lumia in 2023 and expanded its functionality to focus on the RWA niche. As of late 2024, Lumia remains one of the pioneers of liquidity-enhanced RWA use on blockchain.

 (LUMIA) is a Layer 2 blockchain designed for tokenization and use of RWAs in DeFi applications. 

The platform allows businesses to bring a variety of physical and digital assets 

, securely tokenize them and further use the assets for collateral provision, lending and other crypto finance use cases.

The Lumia platform's origins date back to 2020, when Orion Protocol (ORN) was launched on Ethereum. Co-founded by Alexey Koloskov and Kal Ali, Orion offered liquidity aggregation from multiple CEX and DEX platforms. In late 2023, Orion announced its rebranding to Lumia, focusing more specifically on RWAs and their active use through enhanced liquidity provision.

The project also transitioned from Ethereum to its own Layer 2 chain in October 2024, with ORN tokens to be migrated to the new platform's native token, LUMIA, at a 1:1 ratio. As of December 2024, the major crypto exchange platforms have migrated ORN to LUMIA or are in the process of migrating it.

 (ZKP)–based rollup network built using thePolygon CDK, a versatile, open-source blockchain development framework provided by the 

 project. The Lumia platform is highly modular, with different components used for its execution, data availability (DA) and settlement layers.

Chain Abstraction and Account Abstraction

 to offer chain abstraction (CA), and with thirdweb to offer account abstraction (AA) services. Lumia's CA service is designed to provide DeFi users with a single-chain experience by accessing liquidity and opportunities across multiple blockchain networks. Meanwhile, AA allows users to transact across multiple platforms on a single, user-friendly interface. By leveraging 

–based addresses instead of the standard externally-owned account (EOA) addresses, users can seamlessly transact across platforms using a single wallet tied to these smart contracts.

By providing a unified, user-friendly interface, Lumia's AA lets Web 2.0 users enter the world of web3-based DeFi with a minimal learning curve involved. AA’s additional benefits include enhanced security at the smart contract level and gasless, Lumia-sponsored transactions.

Lumia users can also take advantage of intent-based trading, meaning they specify their transaction intents, and orders only execute if a matching deal is found across the entire ecosystem accessible to Lumia. Special liquidity nodes process intent-based orders and offer the best rates they can source for the user’s intent. This helps ensure that Lumia users get the best possible deals.

This advanced trading mechanism is powered by 

, which introduces various unique advantages to enhance the user experience. For instance, it provides robust security against 

 (MEV) attacks, one of the most common exploits in the world of DeFi. It also optimizes price efficiency and minimizes the negative price impact of trades by leveraging its Resolvers to source liquidity across the entire DeFi market.

Built using the Polygon CDK, Lumia is a ZK–based rollup running on a 

 processing engine. Based on a highly modular design, the Polygon CDK allows rollups to easily incorporate different execution, DA and settlement layers and other associated technologies. Lumia, for instance, integrates various execution engines, such as the privacy-focused Privado ID and Miden. Privado ID allows Lumia to securely and privately identify users. Based on zk technology, Privado ID enables individuals and businesses to control their personal data by sharing only the required identity information to DApps without revealing any private or financially sensitive details.

In turn, Miden is also a ZK–based platform that offers private accounts and transaction execution. Operating as a rollup network, Miden is a highly scalable environment for DeFi operators and users who value data confidentiality, an essential consideration for any finance-focused platform.

 with other blockchain environments, achieved by leveraging two modular interoperability layers: AggLayer and Hyperlane.

AggLayer is Lumia's primary interoperability layer. Built into the Polygon CDK, AggLayer offers cross-chain transaction capacity across various Polygon-based Layer 2 rollup networks. It unifies liquidity across the entire ecosystem of AggLayer-connected chains, allowing Lumia to provide deep liquidity for tokenized assets.

Hyperlane, the other interoperability protocol used by Lumia, is a solution designed to help developers easily and efficiently send arbitrary data across chains. It expands Lumia's reach beyond Polygon's ecosystem. Theoretically, it may allow Lumia to access resources and liquidity across the entire ecosystem of chains that have adopted Hyperlane. As of late 2024, there are dozens of such Hyperlane-powered blockchains outside of the Polygon environment.

Lumia provides a streamlined process for RWA tokenization. As the first step, the asset owner needs to provide proof of ownership documentation and undergo any other required due diligence procedures. Following that, a Bailment Agreement is signed between the asset owner and the Lumia Foundation, the legal entity behind the project.

Within the contexts of blockchain technology and RWAs, Bailment Agreements are utilized to entrust physical assets to an authorized custodian, while the actual tokenized representations of these assets are held and used within the blockchain space.

After the parties sign a Bailment Agreement, the asset is appraised by third-party valuators and then tokenized on-chain. The tokenized version of the asset can now be used in DeFi applications accessible via Lumia for typical crypto finance operations, e.g., collateral provision, lending, borrowing, staking, yield management and more.

 protocol, sources liquidity from multiple exchange platforms. (This is the core service from which Lumia started its operations when it was known as Orion Protocol.) It accesses liquidity across the crypto market to provide Lumia-based RWAs with much more than tokenized on-chain representation. Besides access to liquidity, Lumia Stream features MEV protection for all trades conducted on the platform, and 

, which allow tokenized assets to be bridged across blockchain platforms.

Using Lumia Stream, developers can also implement virtual 

, which show optimal trading paths between multiple exchanges. These virtual order books can also transform pricing information from the structure used in 

 (AMM) pools to a format compatible with the standard order book model.

Lumia has several specialized node types, including DNLP (Delta Neutral Liquidity Provisioning) nodes and DAC (Data Availability Committee) nodes. The former are designed for decentralized liquidity provision on the network, while the latter play a key role in data validation.

There are also HyperNodes that can be used either to provide the licenses for the operation rights of virtual Lumia machines or supply the licenses used to delegate to DNLP and DAC node operators. HyperNodes can choose to run a DNLP or DAC node or delegate to these node types and earn ecosystem rewards. 

Lumia first made HyperNode licenses available for purchase in July 2024. The license releases and the associated rollout of HyperNodes will be gradual.

The platform uses a network of zkProvers that are responsible for the generation of validity proofs — cryptographic stamps that certify the validity of transaction blocks. Currently, Lumia utilizes the default zkProver infrastructure provided by the Polygon CDK. However, the project has plans to introduce a custom prover layer in partnership with 

, a provider of low-cost and highly scalable ZK validation services. Per the project's documentation, there will be further announcements on integrating a Gevolut-based zkProver system in Q1 2025.

Lumia's early 2025 plans also include creating a decentralized sequencer network (DCN). Sequencers are critical parts of any rollup system. These nodes organize transactions into blocks for further validation. A typical rollup network uses only one sequencer, an issue often cited as one of the key vulnerabilities of rollups.

Lumia aims to introduce a decentralized network of multiple sequencer nodes tailored to the Lumia platform to optimize its security and performance. The project plans to provide incentives in the form of LUMIA tokens to sequencer service providers in order to build its DCN.

We’ve already mentioned some of the specialized node types on Lumia — DNLP, DAC and HyperNodes. Another crucial node variety on the platform is DA (lightclient) nodes. They play a pivotal role in decentralized data availability by ensuring transaction data is securely stored and easily accessible across the Lumia network. Transaction data on Lumia is distributed and stored across the network of DA nodes to provide validators with easy retrieval when data is required.

Data on the DA node network is stored in a secure, cryptographically protected format. Both the encryption and the distributed storage mode ensure confidentiality and high security for Lumia's transaction data.

DA nodes are incentivized with LUMIA tokens, based on their contributions to the network. Node operators are encouraged to actively participate, as the rewards are determined by both the amount of data processing they handle and their network uptime.

The platform's native cryptocurrency, LUMIA, is used for a wide variety of functions:

The LUMIA token was launched in mid-October 2024, replacing the earlier ORN token, the platform's native crypto. ORN was introduced in July 2020, along with the launch of Orion Protocol. As mentioned above, the platform has announced the migration of ORN to LUMIA at a rate of 1:1. As of December 2024, ORN tokens are still in circulation, but are expected to eventually be migrated to LUMIA completely.

LUMIA is a supply-capped token, with a total and maximum supply of 238,888,888.

 as a Perpetual contract based on USDT. Under the terms of the contract, you can trade LUMIA with up to 12.5x leverage.

Bybit's Innovation Zone offers perpetual trading users access to promising new higher-risk/higher-potential cryptocurrencies selected by the platform's professional team.

As of Dec 19, 2024, the LUMIA token is trading at $1.61, or 36.2% lower than its ATH of $2.49 on Dec 4, 2024, and 72.8% higher than its ATL of $0.9205 on Nov 4, 2024.

Long-term price forecasts for LUMIA are bullish. DigitalCoinPrice 

 at $4.19 in 2025 and $12.06 in 2030, while CoinCodex 

 that the token will trade at $7.50 in 2025 and fall slightly to $6.53 in 2030.

Lumia isn't your ordinary RWA-based blockchain project. While countless new platforms help users tokenize physical world assets, very few offer viable ways of further using the tokenized crypto assets within the DeFi ecosystem. Recognizing the gap, the Lumia project team has decisively taken on the task of making RWAs a highly liquid and actively used form of cryptocurrency.

The project also features a solid infrastructural backbone, supported by the Polygon CDK and its high architectural modularity. Using technologies like Miden, Privado ID, AggLayer and Hyperlane adds to the security and interoperability of the Lumia platform. At the same time, Lumia isn't done yet with sculpting its architecture into a piece of blockchain art — in 2025, the project plans to implement a decentralized sequencer network and partner with Gevolut to provide an efficient zkProver layer.

As Lumia builds up its architecture, tokenizing and 

 will undoubtedly become even more efficient, convenient and secure — and decisively more DeFi-esque.

Advanced

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Lumia (LUMIA): Bridging RWA & DeFi for a New Financial Era

SynFutures is a decentralized platform that lets users list on-chain perpetual futures for any crypto and trade them. Learn about SynFutures and how to trade F on Bybit.

SynFutures is a decentralized marketplace that lets users list on-chain perpetual futures for any cryptocurrency and trade them on the platform. In addition to the wide range of supported assets (such as 

, or RWAs, and NFTs), the project's Oyster 

 (AMM) solution enhances liquidity through the combination of an AMM model and an 

. Powered by the native F token, SynFutures is backed by prominent investors and features a cumulative trading volume of over $230 billion.

In this article, we’ll explore SynFutures, its key features and the mechanics behind the Oyster AMM, as well as the F token and its tokenomics.

 is a decentralized derivatives platform that enables users to trade on-chain 

. Powered by a single-token liquidity model, SynFutures allows free listing of any digital asset on its protocol without any 

 (DAO) proposals or centralized intervention. Doing so fosters on-chain trading of a diverse range of cryptocurrency perpetuals via the platform.

To maximize liquidity, SynFutures employs the Oyster automated market maker

 that provides a customizable set of tools, such as concentrated liquidity and 

. In addition to crypto, the project also enables users to trade perpetual contracts based on 

 platform. As the native coin of the SynFutures ecosystem, the F token is utilized primarily for community governance and 

 boosts, as well as for fee discounts and rewards.

At the time of this writing (Dec 19, 2024), SynFutures boasts a cumulative trading volume of

 and 308,900 total users, of which 22,410 were active within the past seven days. In addition to featuring a 

 (TVL) of over $50 million, the decentralized derivatives platform has processed 15.24 million transactions to date.

SynFutures was founded in 2020 by Rachel Lin and Matthew Liu.Before serving as the CEO and co-founder of the decentralized futures platform, Lin worked at Deutsche Bank, specializing in derivatives. She also co-founded Matrixport, one of Asia's largest digital asset neobanks.

Starting his career as a trader managing Deutsche Bank's Asia rates desk, Matthew Liu's MBA at Northwestern eventually led to him joining the blockchain space. While at Ant Group, he was instrumental in setting up the company's global treasury and later took charge of its financial blockchain business, with a focus on secondary market trading and credit tokenization.

To date, SynFutures has raised $37.4 million in funding from investors in one seed and two early-stage financing rounds. Some of the most notable contributors include Bybit, Pantera Capital, Polychain Capital, Dragonfly Capital, HashKey Capital and Standard Crypto, among others.

SynFutures' ecosystem consists of three flagship solutions:

SynFutures' Oyster AMM: How Does it Work?

One of the most unique components of SynFutures' ecosystem is the 

. It combines the functionality of order books and AMMs to offer users the following key features:

SynFutures' F token serves as the native coin within the project's ecosystem. The main utilities of the digital asset include the following:

F's max supply is capped at 10 billion tokens. Currently, 1.2 billion F are circulating in the market. As of Dec 16, 2024, the native coin 

 a nearly $86.5 million market cap, a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $720 million and a trading volume of $28.52 million over the past 24 hours. F’s allocation is per the graphic below:

SynFutures’ decentralized derivatives platform enables users to list and trade any digital asset and combine it with other cryptocurrencies to create combinations of perpetual futures pairs. Powered by the F native token and the Oyster AMM, SynFutures fosters enhanced liquidity and user experience and a permissionless listing process for perpetuals.

's user-friendly and intuitive Spot trading platform. 

Intermediate

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SynFutures (F): Exploring the Decentralized Derivatives Platform

Learn about Hypurr Fun, a unique Telegram trading bot and launchpad for Hyperliquid, a high-performance decentralized trading platform and layer 1.

Hyperliquid is a high-performance decentralized trading blockchain that has recently gained a lot of attention. It offers a comprehensive suite of trading features, including perpetual contracts with leverage of up to 50x on major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH. Additionally, the upcoming 

 launch is set to further grow the Hyperliquid ecosystem, providing Ethereum-compatible smart contracts to developers.

 is a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain built specifically for decentralized derivatives trading. It combines the best features of 

 (DeFi) with centralized finance (CeFi) user experience. 

Unlike traditional decentralized rivals that often struggle with 

 issues, Hyperliquid delivers a fast, low-slippage trading environment designed to cater to both professional traders and crypto enthusiasts.

By leveraging the HyperBFT algorithm, Hyperliquid can process over 100,000 TPS with minimal latency. This ensures that trades are executed almost instantaneously, providing a seamless trading experience comparable to that of major centralized exchanges (CEXs).

 is the native token of the Hyperliquid blockchain. It powers the ecosystem and provides unique benefits to its holders. HYPE thus serves as the backbone of the platform, enabling trading fee discounts, staking opportunities and governance rights. The token also incorporates a 

 mechanism to maintain price stability, aligning the platform’s growth with token value appreciation.

On Nov 29, 2024, Hyperliquid conducted one of the largest and most generous airdrops in crypto history. The genesis airdrop distributed 31% of the total HYPE supply to over 90,000 early adopters and users of the platform. This airdrop not only rewarded loyal community members, but also set a new standard for fairness and inclusivity.

Token distribution of HYPE is as follows:

Hyperliquid uses an unique and competitive auction mechanism to set the price for newly listed tokens on spot exchanges. Auctions occur every 31 hours, starting at double the price of the last transaction.

The listing auction is a process designed to limit new token listings to just 282 per year. Each auction starts at a high price and decreases linearly until a buyer emerges. This scarcity-driven model has made Hyperliquid’s auctions highly coveted, with prices steadily climbing as teams rush to secure their spot.

Recent auctions highlight this trend: SOVRN paid $262,000 to secure a listing, while MON, rumored to be tied to the Pixelmon team, purchased theirs for nearly double at almost $488,000. Tomorrow’s auction for GOD is expected to start at roughly $1 million, showcasing the parabolic rise in listing costs.

The constantly increasing scarcity of listings underscores the value of securing exposure on Hyperliquid's high-performance trading platform.

 is a unique Telegram trading bot that makes launching and trading meme coins on Hyperliquid effortless. With just a few clicks, users can participate in token launches, track their performance and compete with other traders in exclusive 

 chats. It’s primarily designed for speed, simplicity and security. Hypurr Fun brings the full power of Hyperliquid’s meme coin ecosystem directly to your fingertips.

 offers all the tools a user needs to snipe new launches, manage portfolios and maximize efficiency. 

Users can configure slippage, entry sizes and exit percentages to tailor their trading experience. The bot is always on, ensuring you never miss an opportunity, while its responsive interface and robust security measures provide a seamless, safe experience.

Whether you’re a seasoned trader or new to the game, Hypurr Fun ensures you stay ahead in the competitive meme coin market.

Hypurr Fun has quickly become a launchpad for some of the most exciting projects in the Hyperliquid ecosystem. Among the top launches is HYENA, a fierce predator-themed token with a current market cap of $6.1M. HYENA has gained significant traction as a key player on Hyperliquid, boasting a strong trust factor and consistent progress toward full deployment.

Another standout is BEATS, an AI-driven music creation platform with a $1.52M market cap. BEATS leverages autonomous AI technology to revolutionize music production, showcasing the innovative potential of Hypurr Fun–launched tokens. Lastly, HYRO, the liquid hero, has made its mark with a $865.97K market cap, offering unique creative value to the ecosystem. These 

 the diversity and dynamism of Hypurr Fun’s capabilities and potential.

The HFUN token has emerged as a standout in the Hyperliquid ecosystem. At the time of this writing (Dec 18, 2024), it has a market cap of $230M and a fully diluted valuation of the same amount. HFUN demonstrates Hypurr Fun’s strength: the token has achieved a 285% price increase in the past seven days, far outpacing both the broader crypto market and similar Telegram bot-based projects.

A unique feature of HFUN is its fee-to-buyback mechanism, whereby 100% of fees from trades are used to purchase HFUN tokens, creating consistent upward price pressure. 

Despite its origins as a test for the Hypurr Fun Telegram bot, HFUN has captured the attention of traders, reaching an all-time high of $300.19 on Dec 17, 2024. This growth reflects both the community's enthusiasm for the token and its role in the thriving ecosystem of Hyperliquid.

The Hyperliquid ecosystem is on fire, with its innovative features and exclusive platforms such as Hypurr Fun driving unparalleled momentum. From top launches like HYENA and BEATS to the exceptional performance of HFUN, it’s clear that Hyperliquid is becoming the go-to destination for meme coin enthusiasts and serious traders alike. 

As listing auctions heat up and trading tools evolve, the opportunities within Hyperliquid are only set to grow.

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Hypurr Fun: Hyperliquid's Premier Launchpad and Trading Bot

Sonic Labs has launched its Sonic mainnet, an EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain evolved from Fantom, offering 10,000 TPS and sub-second finality.

The S&P 500 fell 2.95% after the Fed cut rates but reduced 2025 cut projections, raising inflation and growth forecasts, which drove up Treasury yields. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was down by 2.71%, with Bitcoin and Ether dropping by 5.71% and 6.00%, respectively in the past 24 hours.

Today's top performer is USUAL, which surged 38.21% following the partnership announcement between Usual, Ethena, and BUIDL to enhance liquidity, yield, and composability in DeFi.

Usual (USUAL), launched in December 2024, is a multi-chain platform offering USD0, a decentralized stablecoin backed by real-world assets, redistributing financial power to the community. Usual, Ethena, and BUIDL (tokenized by Securitize) have 

 to enhance DeFi by integrating liquidity, yield, and composability. The collaboration allows USDtb and BUIDL as collateral for Usual’s USD0 stablecoin, offering maximized yields and seamless swaps between USD0, USDtb, and sUSDe. Ethena strengthens the initiative with delta-neutral strategies and treasury support, bridging TradFi and DeFi for improved liquidity and profitability.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

, an EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain evolved from Fantom, offering 10,000 TPS and sub-second finality. The platform introduces a "Fee Monetization" model that shares up to 90% of network fees with developers. FTM token holders can upgrade to the new S token on a one-to-one basis through a dedicated portal, with free swaps available for the first 90 days. The platform features a decentralized Sonic Gateway for secure Ethereum bridging, with plans for multi-chain expansion. Sonic Labs is distributing 190.5 million S tokens through an airdrop program targeting both users and developers, aiming to drive adoption and innovation on the platform.

Yesterday, BTC Spot ETFs experienced total outflows of $84.3 million, including $35.9 million from GBTC and $48.4 million from non-GBTC funds.

Farm Frens and Everseed, developed by Amihan Entertainment, will 

 their token and airdrop on Ethereum layer-2 network Base in January 2025. Players of Farm Frens and Everseed NFT holders will qualify for the airdrop. The studio plans to unite the games further, blending crypto and AI to create next-gen interactive experiences.

Beginner

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Ethena Labs Forms Partnership with World Liberty Financial to Integrate sUSDe Token and Enhance Liquidity

DeFi

DeFi vs CeFi differs in its applications, security, and its impact on profitability. Discover how DeFi can revolutionize CeFi in the near future.

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Bitcoin prompted the emergence of an entire industry around blockchain technology and digital currencies. Some cryptocurrency market participants argue that decentralized solutions would 

 traditional financial services. While it’s too early to make such claims confidently, we can agree that an exciting competition and interaction between decentralized finance (

) and centralized finance (CeFi) is taking place precisely within the cryptocurrency industry. In the present article, we’ll discuss the main contrasts between the two trends.

The main difference between DeFi and CeFi is that the former involves decentralized infrastructures, where the financial services are governed by communities rather than single entities. In CeFi, all operations are managed by a business or a consortium of companies and organizations. Consequently, the mechanisms differ as well.  

Before understanding the differences between DeFi vs CeFi, we’ll start by defining each approach separately. While CeFi came first to address the Bitcoin adoption, DeFi is the buzzword this year, and we’ll start with it.

 represents a trend or movement that promotes blockchain-powered infrastructures and open-source software to create all kinds of financial services and products, including traditional ones. You can think about services such as lending, trading, issuance of money, payments, insurance, over-the-counter (OTC) trading, 

, financial data, asset management, and more. To visualize it, DeFi is all about transforming traditional banking services to decentralized architectures. So that communities could manage them instead of banks, governments, or regulators.

DeFi is a formidable trend right now, resembling the craze of initial coin offerings (ICOs) from late 2017. The new ecosystem revolves around financial applications developed on blockchain networks. The decentralized applications (dApps) integrate secure permissionless, trustless networks, and eradicate central authority managing the services.

Most DeFi projects currently rely on Ethereum, a public blockchain that offers an open network with intelligent features such as the smart contract. The latter is a critical feature that enables the development of dApps. A smart contract is a blockchain code that can automatically execute and settle whenever predetermined conditions are met. In this way, there is no need for intermediaries like banks and regulators to handle sales, transactions, and other deals involving two or more parties.

As the name suggests, in CeFi, users trust centralized companies and institutions that store their funds to provide various services. Currently, most CeFi solutions are related to cryptocurrency trading, though other applications are also popular.

Most CeFi service providers implement Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) practices to abide by their respective jurisdictions’ rules. That means users have to share their personal information and make sure the funds are not coming from criminal activities.

Many CeFi services operate with custodial wallets, which store users’ private keys. Custodians would do everything possible to keep and manage clients’ crypto funds conveniently.

Whenever you trade on popular crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, 

, you deal with a CeFi service. These are platforms run by centralized entities responsible for matching buyers and sellers, offering the required features, and making sure the rules are followed by everyone accordingly. As with any business, the profits from fees are shared among company stakeholders.

Besides trading services, companies fall under the CeFi umbrella that offers borrowing, lending, margin trading, and other financial services.

Some large companies, such as Binance, merge all these crypto services to access them from a single account. Most of the clients agree with sharing their data or storing funds into the custody of these companies providing that they are trustworthy institutions. However, even the most reputable exchanges have 

or thefts that compromised user funds. So this is a risk that CeFi users must know.

Other CeFi crypto firms providing non-trading services are Cred, BitGo, Crypto.com, and Nexo.

DeFi and CeFi share some similarities in the sense that they both involve the same financial services. Sometimes the end-user wouldn’t even notice if a crypto service relies on a DeFi or a CeFi infrastructure. At the moment, both CeFi and DeFi enable the same group of financial services, including spot trading, derivatives trading, margin trading, borrowing and lending, payments, and the creation of stablecoins.

Speaking about trading, both CeFi and DeFi platforms can create intuitive interfaces so that newbies could be onboarded effortlessly.

Often, the same people and organizations are involved in the development of both CeFi and DeFi projects. After all, both trends are advocating the use of blockchain and digital currencies.

Even though both trends’ fundamental goals are the same – to promote the adoption of decentralized ledger technologies (DLTs) – several significant differences split DeFi and CeFi into two different worlds. Here are the main aspects that differ:

As mentioned, CeFi projects are controlled by a single entity or group of entities that run every business aspect. Elsewhere, even though distinct groups of people and organizations develop most DeFi projects, the resulting platforms are governed by communities via different mechanisms. Any DeFi project would try to mimic Bitcoin or any other public blockchain in decentralization, though the consensus algorithms differ from case to case.

Some DeFi projects offer governance tokens that enable holders to take part in decision-making processes. An example of a governance token that exploded in the summer of 2020 is Compound (COMP).

CeFi and DeFi services provide various features that are unique for each group. For example, most CeFi projects offer custody solutions and have dedicated customer service teams, generally not available in DeFi.

On the other side, trading on DeFi platforms happens on blockchain as there is no single authority involved. This achievement is possible thanks to several key features, including automated market-making (AMM), liquidity pools and 

, and non-custodial swaps. Usually, there are no KYC requirements in DeFi, while the funds are stored in personal wallets until the transaction’s execution. The crypto exchanges built on blockchain infrastructures are called decentralized exchanges (

While some companies provide both centralized and decentralized exchanges, Binance is one such example. Its DEX platform doesn’t require registration or KYC verification.

Another great feature of DeFi is the tokenization of traditional assets. Thus, blockchain can be used to create digital units of any asset or investment, including commodities, company shares, forex pairs, and stock indexes, among others.

Initially, when the first crypto exchanges facilitated fiat conversions, there was no regulation whatsoever, as governments didn’t fully understand Bitcoin and blockchain. Nevertheless, today most jurisdictions try to regulate crypto operations directly or indirectly. So, this is one of the reasons why most CeFi platforms require KYC verification. In the US, Coinbase is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while other global platforms moved their headquarters to crypto-friendly jurisdictions like Malta or Estonia. Meanwhile, the European Commission is about to create 

 aimed at cryptocurrencies. All in all, there are more jurisdictions in correlation to CeFi services.

As for DeFi, this is a new trend, and it is not regulated anywhere given the nature of decentralized networks. However, even if it’s more difficult to impose regulation on DeFi markets, a research paper by BCG Platinion and Crypto.com

 that the rapid boom in DeFi created conditions for money laundering will attract regulators sooner than later.

Usually, centralized exchanges charge higher fees to maintain the platform, pay salaries to the staff, improve their products, and more. Elsewhere, DEX platforms are more affordable to trade on, as they don’t provide custody services and don’t have any team involved in the governance process.

Generally, the fee revenue is shared among liquidity providers and token holders that choose to stake their tokens. An example is Uniswap, a crypto swap platform that distributes the funds from fees among liquidity providers.

The way liquidity is achieved in DeFi is very different. In CeFi projects, the platforms match buyers’ and sellers’ orders similarly to forex or stockbrokers. In DeFi, all trading is not carried out automatically on blockchain. Instead, DEX platforms rely on AMMs, an innovative concept in which both sides of a trade are pre-funded by liquidity providers incentivized to locate their funds.

Eventually, the trading fees are shared between liquidity providers, as mentioned in the previous paragraph. Usually, liquidity pools comprise two constituents representing a trading pair, e.g., BTC/ETH. Liquidity providers have to contribute equal values by locking both BTC and ETH based on the current rate.

Even though CeFi platforms do their best to maintain a high degree of security, you can regularly find out about some significant exchange being hacked. At the beginning of the year, Chainalysis said that 2019 saw the most hacking attacks ever, though the number of stolen funds had declined drastically compared to 2018.

There is no such risk for decentralized exchanges, as the platform doesn’t store user funds. The only thing users should pay attention to is the code and the consensus algorithm used by the DeFi project. Sometimes the underlying technology may come with bugs and other issues.

The execution speed is relatively high in both CeFi and DeFi, though it depends on each platform individually. Most exchanges can provide almost instant performance for market orders.

CeFi platforms are the simulations of traditional banks, and they have already demonstrated their potential and still do. On the other hand, DeFi is only at its nascent stage. Many industry onlookers predict a vast revolution in which DeFi services would gradually replace traditional ones and threaten the banking system.

Still, as of today, both DeFi and CeFi have their places in the crypto industry. They provide faster transactions, attractive yields, and excellent infrastructure aimed at communities.

Both DeFi and CeFi can be applied to all kinds of traditional and crypto-related financial services, such as spot trading, derivatives trading, lending and borrowing, and more. Fiat to crypto conversions and vice versa is also available in both ecosystems. Also, both DeFi and CeFi platforms may provide cross-chain services, though the mechanisms differ.

In general, the two trends have similar applications, but the approach is very different. One thing specific for DeFi alone is the tokenization of assets. For example, Synthetix hosts a DeFi ecosystem where users can create so-called synthetic assets (synths), which are ERC20 tokens representing real-world assets. Users can eventually provide liquidity to those synths and trade them on a dedicated exchange. Synthetic assets have great potential, capable of making derivatives trading more flexible, accessible, and transparent.

There are good projects in both sectors, but DeFi runs the show these days, at least from an investor’s perspective. You can get direct exposure to CeFi projects by investing in the native tokens of cryptocurrency exchanges. At the moment, Binance Token (BNB), Crypto.com Coin (CRO), and Huobi Token (HT) are the most popular CeFi tokens. Arguably, 

 is a CeFi constituent, given that Ripple is a centralized company.

That said, there are way more DeFi options to choose from now. That’s especially when this sector is still at its infant stage.

DeFi tokens are way more volatile than the rest of cryptocurrencies, which is very telling of the risks. It would be best if you stuck to proper risk management techniques when investing and never deposit more than you’re ready to lose.

Another problem with DeFi is that it hosts an increased number of

, the same as the ICO space did a few years ago. That’s why you should better invest in well-established DeFi projects.

DeFi tokens can boost your profitability, especially if you managed to catch the trend right after Bitcoin’s nosedive back in March 2020. Tokens like UNI, COMP, Maker, SNX, and KNC have demonstrated impressive returns this year. The same is right about projects that benefit from the DeFi boom, such as Chainlink and Polkadot. Here is how the most popular DeFi tokens performed so far this year:

Bitcoin (blue line) has performed better than most DeFi tokens year-to-date as it hit the highest level in almost three years as of November 2020. Still, LINK and KNC have provided impressive yields. Despite Bitcoin domination, DeFi tokens have much room to grow.

What To Expect From DeFi and CeFi in the Future?

The medium-term future is bright for both DeFi and CeFi, as the financial crisis will highlight the importance of refuge assets with low correlation to traditional markets. It will also stress the importance of blockchain solutions for all kinds of financial services that governments should not manipulate.

In the long-term future, DeFi will thrive as it has the potential of making financial services accessible to everyone. Investors should keep an eye on Ethereum’s transition to Proof of Stake and the regulatory changes related to DeFi, which will impact the emerging sector. 

DeFi vs CeFi Cryptocurrency: What Are The Differences?

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