- What is a DAO: governance and treasury controls without a boss
- What is an oracle in DeFi: The data layer that decides prices, loans, and liquidations
- How to evaluate a DeFi protocol with a trader’s failure-mode checklist
22 guides
DeFi
Decentralized finance: open financial services built on blockchain.
Start here
Learn about DeFi
What is staking in crypto: How it works, rewards, and the risks you underwrite
Staking locks proof-of-stake tokens as consensus collateral for variable rewards, with liquidity lockups and enforceable penalties.
What is yield farming: How DeFi “yield” really gets paid
Yield farming pays fees, borrower interest, and token incentives, but the return is compensation for risks like IL, depegs, exploits, and costs.
What is a DAO: governance and treasury controls without a boss
A DAO is a governance and treasury system where smart contracts can enforce votes, but many outcomes still rely on humans to execute them.
What is an oracle in DeFi: The data layer that decides prices, loans, and liquidations
A DeFi oracle publishes external data, usually prices, on-chain so smart contracts can set collateral values, borrow limits, and liquidation thresholds.
How to lend crypto on Aave: approve, supply, track aTokens, withdraw cleanly
Aave “lending” is supplying to a chain-specific pool, receiving aTokens that accrue variable interest, then redeeming them to withdraw.
How to evaluate a DeFi protocol with a trader’s failure-mode checklist
Start by mapping the yield’s cashflow source, then score five wipeout paths before you deposit: code, control, mechanism, exitability, and dilution.
Keep going
Related areas to explore. Pick one and keep reading.
- How to lend crypto on Aave: approve, supply, track aTokens, withdraw cleanly
- How do automated market makers work: pricing swaps with on-chain inventory
- How Aave bad debt works: from post-liquidation leftovers to reserve deficits
4 guides
- What is staking in crypto: How it works, rewards, and the risks you underwrite
- What is yield farming: How DeFi “yield” really gets paid
- What Is a Liquid Restaking Token: How LRTs Reuse Staked Collateral for Extra Security
6 guides
Latest DeFi News
AI
Liquid exploit pulls 4,000 BTC as AI-driven bug hunts hit Bitcoin’s outer layers
Coldcard’s $114M theft and a Core Lightning emergency add to a pattern of complexity-driven BTC risk.
AI
OpenAI begins phased GPT-6 Astra rollout, starting with Daybreak cybersecurity firms
OpenAI says Astra hit a “Critical” cyber threshold and will reach paid ChatGPT tiers, the API, and AWS in the coming days.
Crypto
Mantle launches Paxos-issued USDG natively and joins Global Dollar Network
Partner status puts Mantle into USDG’s reward-sharing structure tied to stablecoin activity.
Crypto
Sui DeFi protocol Full Sail winds down after Switchboard-linked oracle incident drains ~$91K
Switchboard halted its Move-based network on Aptos, Sui, IOTA and Movement while investigating a potential compromise.
Crypto
21-Bank consortium targets USD stablecoin launch in 1H 2027 as Circle stock falls ~6%
The group plans to form a stablecoin-issuing company in 2H 2026 and says it will align with the U.S. GENIUS Act and EU MiCA.
Crypto
Bitcoin and Ether’s August gains clash with BitMEX’s planned September shutdown
BTC returned 26% and ETH gained 34% in August 2026 as perps and funding became exchange table stakes.
AI
Solowin pitches Know-Your-Agent plus Bahrain stablecoin license as rails for AI wallets
AXG’s AGENPAY incubation with SC Ventures ties agent identity to payments, but the stablecoin is not live yet.
Crypto
Robinhood Chain logs record $989M daily DEX volume during August activity spike
The same report links the one-day volume high with TVL growth, but the underlying data source and breakdown were not provided.
Crypto
Arkham links Lazarus to $30M+ BTC sales on Hyperliquid as U.S. onshoring talks build
Proceeds were rotated into ETH and SOL and sent to Kraken, LBank, and KuCoin as Trump touted a CFTC-led “fully compliant” pathway.
Crypto
Blockaid links $9.3M WFLOW drain on More Markets to ankrFLOW E-mode overborrowing
The Flow EVM lending reserve loss is third-party reported, and the protocol had not confirmed user impact at publication time.
Crypto
Cronos halts chain after Tectonic exploit as researcher estimates $75M impact
About $6 million was reportedly bridged to Ethereum before the stop, with no restart timeline announced.
Crypto
Katana’s Fisher says RWA utilization is mismeasured and closer to ~20%
He argues dashboards miss off-contract collateral use and that settlement speed, not composability, caps leverage loops.
AI
Chainalysis pegs 2025 crypto scam inflows at $14B as attackers shift to permissions
Binance Research tied about two-thirds of April 2026’s $621M DeFi losses to access-control failures, not code bugs.
AI
Motley Fool pitches BTC, ETH and TAO on an AI-to-crypto rotation and ETF inflow claims
The thesis leans on Bitcoin’s reported 25% August gain and an un-sourced claim of the biggest Bitcoin ETF inflows since Oct. 2025.
Crypto
MultiversX ships Supernova on testnet, targeting ~600 ms blocks ahead of Sept. 10 mainnet
The upgrade decouples consensus from execution and claims 100–250 ms in-shard finality for latency-sensitive DeFi.
AI
Hugging Face says AI agents hit it 17,600 times, forcing a switch to local open weights
The firm says hosted-model guardrails blocked forensic work, so it ran zai-org/GLM-5.2 on its own infrastructure mid-incident.
Crypto
Term Finance discloses governance exploit with estimated $8.5M loss
The protocol framed the figure as an estimate, leaving final accounting and user-impact details unresolved.
AI
TRM Labs says AI adoption in crypto crime rose 40% over the past year
The 2026-08-21 disclosure offers a directional security signal, but no methodology or category breakdown.
Crypto
AVAX breaks pennant after four green days, but $9 is the decision level
DEX volume hit a $141.61M 24h monthly high and long positioning is near 70% into resistance.
Crypto
EU Commission reopens MiCA review on crypto lending, putting DeFi vaults in scope
A May 20 consultation running through Sept. 30 tests whether onchain lending fits MiCA and who counts as the regulated provider.
