The emergence of decentralized finance, know as DeFi, offers a glimpse into a new world.

Complex financial services and products traditionally provided through large institutions can be transformed into automated, self-executing instruments without requiring banks, brokerages or agents. It’s a peer-to-peer transactional system, with instant service, accessible by anyone, anywhere, at any time.

DeFi is all about creation. At a DeFi firm such as Cook Finance Inc., users can create, execute and invest in a variety of DeFi protocols through permissioned or permissionless environments. Instead of third-party institutions, the user community drives the portfolio in a Web3 world.

“Our communities consistently propose very interesting strategies and DeFi protocols together to execute on a portfolio that allows them to achieve certain objectives,” said Michael So (pictured, center), partner and head of business development at Cook Finance. “If you were to define Web2 as read and write, and Web3 as read, write and create, this is where the difference lies. Let the crowd wisdom decide what should take hold from a product perspective.”

So spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during the Unstoppable Domains Partner Showcase event. He was joined by Jaime Rogozinski (right), founder of WallStreetBets and strategic advisor of WSBD App, and Mike Morhulets (left), chief executive officer of DeHive, and they discussed DeFi’s elimination of the need for third-party providers and how companies are seeking to simplify the use of tools and protocols for crypto users. (* Disclosure below.)

Smart contracts and no intermediaries

Much of the DeFi world runs on smart contracts, programs stored on the blockchain that execute when certain predetermined conditions are met.

In the case of DeHive, a decentralized protocol created for issuing and investing in baskets of leading DeFi crypto products, assets are stored in a transparent smart contract. The idea is for the user to create and manage a DeHive index with a healthy mix of high-performing tokens that can generate steadier profits.

“It’s all about smart contracts,” Morhulets said. “There are no intermediates here.”

DeFi’s growing appeal is reflected in the volume of money flowing into the space. The amount invested in various crypto assets has been bouncing between $195 billion and $260 billion in recent weeks, according to the tracking protocol DeFi Llama.

Nevertheless, DeFi is still complex. There are a lot of layers involved in activating wallets, locking and unlocking funds, paying fees, and keeping track of all the stablecoins, derivatives and decentralized autonomous organizations. Unstoppable Domains’ solution around minting non-fungible tokens to create a digital identity is designed to help remove some of the complexity surrounding the DeFi world.

“It’s a matter of rethinking and looking at all of the advantages and benefits that DeFi has to offer,” Rogozinski said. “The spirit of DeFi is removing bottlenecks. This way of identifying yourself has incalculable benefits. Unstoppable is in a really great position.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Unstoppable Domains Partner Showcase event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Unstoppable Domains Partner Showcase event. Neither Unstoppable Domains, the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE