{
  "id": 6587361,
  "title": "What is DeFi? A Beginner’s Guide to Decentralized Finance",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/what-is-defi-a-beginners-guide-to-decentralized-finance",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-09T22:00:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ventureburn",
    "slug": "ventureburn",
    "url": "https://ventureburn.com/what-is-defi/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Decentralized finance, or DeFi, represents a revolutionary shift from the traditional financial system. Unlike conventional banking, DeFi eliminates the need for intermediaries and operates solely on a blockchain. This means that users directly interact with applications and smart contracts to access various financial services, such as lending, trading, and earning yields.\n\nIn 2024, the DeFi sector saw an impressive $133.6 billion in total value locked, more than doubling the $50 billion reported just a year prior in 2023. By late 2025, this number had reached an astounding $172 billion. Despite these impressive figures, DeFi still faces significant challenges, such as the lack of consumer protection and the absence of deposit insurance.\n\nThe technology behind DeFi relies on smart contracts, which are self-executing pieces of code stored on a blockchain. These contracts automate the execution of agreements and financial transactions when predefined conditions are met. Users interact with these contracts through decentralized applications (dApps), which are essentially websites or mobile apps that connect directly to the blockchain.\n\nEthereum dominates the DeFi landscape, accounting for over 68% of the total value locked. However, other blockchains like Solana, BNB Chain, and Avalanche also play a role, offering faster transactions or lower fees. The use of DeFi has grown exponentially, with smart contract interactions accounting for nearly 62% of all daily transactions on Ethereum, with DeFi protocols contributing around 25% of the network's transaction volume.",
  "summary": "When learning what is DeFi, you will find that decentralized finance is very different from the traditional financial system. There’s no middleman. Just you, your crypto, and a piece of The post What is DeFi? A Beginner’s Guide to Decentralized Finance appeared first on Ventureburn .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}