- 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
DeFi
Decentralized finance: open financial services built on blockchain.
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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
- 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
Latest DeFi News
SOL perp funding flips negative after $83 retest as Solana DEX activity cools
Annualized funding swung from +8% to -3% in days while weekly DEX volume and DApp revenue fell well below January levels.
Messari: Pump.fun generated $124.7M in Q1, over one-third of Solana app revenue
Launchpads took 42% of app revenue as trading apps grew 40%, RWAs topped $2B, and DeFi TVL fell with SOL’s price.
Ostium taps Nasdaq equities data to power onchain equity perpetuals
The perps venue is pitching broader access to U.S. equities exposure, but it has not disclosed listings, timing, or feed terms.
Bitcoin slips below $77K at CME open as Trump’s Iran warning hits risk assets
Oil briefly topped $112 as $677M in crypto liquidations and a drop in open interest signaled forced deleveraging.
VerifiedX markets a Bitcoin “reliever chain” to push self-custodied BTC DeFi
The project claims Taproot and threshold signatures can add programmability and optional ZK privacy without WBTC-style wrappers.
Stablecoin supply hits $321B as Clarity Act markup nears and Kelp burns $278M rsETH
Senate Banking faces 100+ amendments by a 5:00pm ET deadline, while Kelp plans a two-week rsETH reissuance.
Galaxy Digital to manage Sharplink’s $125M onchain yield fund under non-binding MOU
The vehicle is seeded with $100M from Sharplink’s staked ETH treasury and $25M of Galaxy capital for DeFi yield strategies.
Renegade V1 Arbitrum dark pool exploited for ~$209K. ~90% returned after onchain demand
Renegade blamed a missing owner assignment and an April 2025 migration bug, and pledged full user compensation and a post-mortem.
Solv moves to Chainlink CCIP after $293M Kelp rsETH exploit
Tydro and Kelp DAO also shifted oracle and bridge infrastructure as LayerZero disputes the root-cause narrative.
Aave liquidates Kelp DAO attacker’s rsETH collateral as Arbitrum freeze stalls recovery
Proceeds moved to DeFi United’s Recovery Guardian multisig, but 30,765 ETH remains tied up by a restraining notice ahead of a DAO vote close.
Arthur Hayes opens Consensus Miami arguing crypto “doesn’t need regulation”
Day-one programming put DOJ mixer cases, CFTC prediction markets, and crypto tax reform on the main agenda.
Gerstein Harrow seeks to block Arbitrum DAO moving 30,766 ETH frozen after Kelp exploit
Court-signed restraining notice and writs of execution add a legal layer to rsETH recovery plans.
Late-April US midterm poll puts crypto at 1% as voters’ top issue
Prompted questions lifted crypto’s stated importance, but kitchen-table issues still dominate the 2026 agenda.
Kelp DAO’s $292M exploit raises the bar for DeFi lending security
Apollo’s Morpho partnership and BlackRock’s Uniswap deployment kept moving as insiders pushed baseline controls.
Sentora makes Smart Yield vault analytics public with new DeFi monitoring dashboard
The non-custodial interface at vaults.sentora.com breaks down vault strategies and flags risk signals beyond headline APY.
Stable Sea integrates WisdomTree’s WTGXX to sweep corporate cash into tokenized T-bills
WTGXX reports $857.64M in assets and a 3.43% daily yield, with SEC-approved 24/7 trading for always-on liquidity.
Acting AG Blanche says DOJ won’t charge blockchain devs without “knowing” help
The Las Vegas remarks shift focus to criminal users, but leave the “helping” line undefined for noncustodial tools.
Arkham: DeFi United wallet reaches about $160M toward Aave’s $200M rsETH recap
Mantle and Aave DAO account for a combined 55,000 ETH, while Stani Kulechov pledged 5,000 ETH personally.
Ethereum Foundation unstakes 17,035 ETH via Lido after nearing 70,000-ETH target
Arkham-tracked withdrawal uses the wstETH-to-unstETH route, delaying when the ETH becomes transferable.
Anchorage Digital integrates Marinade to offer custody-native SOL staking for institutions
Clients can pick a KYC-verified validator set aimed at regulated products or a yield-optimized strategy spread across hundreds of validators.



















