Technological innovation and new cultural preferences are pointing to a future where financial services are decentralized.
Consumers have made it clear they want reduced exposure to large banking institutions. These institutions take a cut of every transaction and offer products to only those they see fit.
Fees are eating away at consumers’ wealth, and many are unable to access credit, preventing them from buying homes or getting ahead.
But the financial landscape is changing.
Blockchain technology is powering a decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem that will reduce fees and make financial services more accessible to all.
By using crypto tokens and smart contracts to make payments programmable, DeFi eliminates the need for financial institution intermediaries.
That’s why financial institutions as we know them could cease to exist by the end of this decade.
DeFi Has Huge Growth Potential
With DeFi, revenues and fees typically received by financial institutions become shareable across participants.
Imagine if the $2.4 trillion in revenue U.S. financial companies generate annually made its way back to the consumer.
And aside from a government entity, no centralized institution can obstruct access to DeFi network participation. This means borrowers aren’t at the mercy of credit bureaus, and families can instantly send money across the globe.
The crypto market seems to think DeFi is here to stay. The value of assets locked in DeFi protocols has risen 2,600% since last year, even after pulling back considerably during the recent crypto market drawdown.
(Source: DeFi Pulse.)
Despite the seemingly inevitable adoption that lies ahead for DeFi, the market cap of its tokens is only 5% of the broader $1.2 trillion crypto market cap and 0.9% of the value of U.S. financial companies.
(Source: CoinMarketCap, Bloomberg.)
As you can see, DeFi’s growth is still in the early innings, and investors have the potential to make huge gains over the coming years.
It’s an exciting time to invest in DeFi. You can learn about the opportunities in this space by watching Ian’s Next Wave Crypto Fortunes presentation.
Regards,
Analyst, Automatic Fortunes