Launching MoonPay Enterprise: Stablecoin APIs for developers → Learn More

Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.

MoonPay
  • Individuals
  • Business
    Get Started
Buy
Buy cryptoUse a card, Apple Pay or Google Pay to buy crypto fast. We also accept bank transfers and wires.
Buy BitcoinBTC
Buy EthereumETH
Buy PolygonPOL
Buy SolanaSOL
Buy DogecoinDOGE
Buy CardanoADA
Buy AvalancheAVAX
Sell
Sell cryptoTurn your crypto into cash. In a flash. Get paid straight to your bank account or Visa card.
Sell BitcoinBTC
Sell EthereumETH
Sell USDCUSDC
Sell SolanaSOL
Sell CardanoADA
Sell DogecoinDOGE
Sell AvalancheAVAX
Trade
Trade cryptoTrade between tokens, even if they’re on different chains (we make bridging seamless too).
Trade EthereumETH
Trade USDCUSDC
Trade AaveAAVE
Trade ChainlinkLINK
Trade Wrapped BitcoinWBTC
Trade DaiDAI
Trade CompoundCOMP
Company
NewsroomNewsroomMediaMediaCareersCareersChangelogChangelogMoonPay DiscoverMoonPay DiscoverNew
Crypto Prices
Bitcoin PriceEthereum PriceSolana PriceDogecoin PriceCardano PriceXRP PriceBNB PriceAll Crypto Prices
Learn
What is Blockchain?What is Blockchain?What are NFTs?What are NFTs?What is Bitcoin mining?What is Bitcoin mining?What is DeFi?What is DeFi?What is crypto staking?What is crypto staking?All Learn Articles
Support
DocumentationDocumentationHelp CenterHelp CenterContact UsContact UsStatusStatus

MoonPay (UK) Limited is a company registered in England and Wales under the company number 12055543. MoonPay (UK) Limited's office address is 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU.
MoonPay (UK) Limited is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, under FRN 944716 as cryptoasset business, under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, as amended (MLRs).

  • Personal
  • Buy Crypto
  • Sell Crypto
  • Trade Crypto
  • Learn about Crypto
  • Crypto Price
  • MoonAgentsNew!
  • Business
  • Ramps
  • Virtual AccountsNew!
  • MoonPay Discover
  • MoonPay Commerce
  • MoonPay InstitutionalNew!
  • Company
  • About Us
  • CareersWe're hiring
  • Newsroom
  • Media
  • Changelog
  • Support
  • API Docs
  • Help Center
  • Contact Us
  • Status
  • Security
  • Buy
  • Buy Bitcoin
  • Buy Ethereum
  • Buy Solana
  • Buy Cardano
  • Sell
  • Sell Bitcoin
  • Sell Ethereum
  • Sell XRP
  • Sell Solana
  • Trade
  • Trade Ethereum
  • Trade SOL
  • Trade Aave
  • Trade Chainlink
  • Crypto Prices
  • Bitcoin Price
  • Ethereum Price
  • Dogecoin Price
  • XRP Price
  • Cardano Price
  • Learn
  • What is Blockchain?
  • What are NFTs?
  • What is Bitcoin mining?
  • What is DeFi?
  • What is crypto staking?
  • Legal
  • Licenses
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use

MoonPay (UK) Limited is a company registered in England and Wales under the company number 12055543. MoonPay (UK) Limited's office address is 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU.
MoonPay (UK) Limited is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, under FRN 944716 as cryptoasset business, under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, as amended (MLRs).

Back to all articles

DeFi

Decentralized finance (DeFi) refers to blockchain-based financial applications that are peer-to-peer, meaning users can engage directly with one another without intermediaries like banks and brokers.

Geoffrey Lyons

By Geoffrey Lyons

Published on May 24, 2025

Last modified on Feb 26, 2026

Decentralized finance (DeFi) refers to blockchain-based financial applications that are peer-to-peer, meaning users can engage directly with one another without intermediaries like banks and brokers. 

Many see DeFi as a major challenge to institutional finance. Robert Leshner, founder of DeFi protocol Compound, says it is providing the opportunity to “reimagine the financial system on a blockchain.”

Others see it as a complimentary counterbalance to the existing centralized financial ecosystem.

Further reading: What is DeFi? An introduction to decentralized finance

Marking DeFi’s borders

DeFi is one of those broad terms that is best understood by defining what it is not. Usually DeFi is differentiated from:

  • TradFi (“traditional finance”): Mainstream financial institutions like banks and brokers
  • CeFi (“centralized finance”): Centralized crypto platforms, also known as centralized exchanges (CEXs)

All three - DeFi, TradFi, and CeFi - offer financial services, but they differ in important ways.

Why it’s important

DeFi aims to address three main issues with centralized financial services:

* A crypto wallet is a tool that lets people send and receive cryptocurrencies.

Terms you should know

DeFi has its own jargon that can be daunting for newcomers, but if you master these seven terms you can navigate the DeFi ecosystem with ease:

MPMinute-DeFi-BlogAsset-Terms-Rounded.png

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Did you like this article? Sign up to our weekly MoonPay Minute newsletter to get similar content delivered directly to your inbox.