Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Digital assets and cryptocurrency businesses have grown rapidly over the past few years. Institutions have begun to facilitate the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies and custody services and are looking for new ways to participate in decentralised finance (DeFi). This course is designed by expert instructors from Stone River eLearning to help beginners take their first steps into the world of digital finance. We include course notes in our ‘Resources’ section that you can download and use to enrich the video lessons.

We begin with a brief history of digital finance and its rise in popularity. We discuss how it pursues the aim of revolutionising the world's present centralised financial infrastructure by adopting a decentralised internet-based architecture that depends on open-source protocols rather than traditional financial intermediaries. The course covers key components of DeFi, cryptocurrencies, smart contract platforms, oracles and stablecoins. We practically illustrate each concept with case studies and examples of decentralised finance projects.

The course then delves into the blockchain technology that powers DeFi. We explain transactional processing, tokenisation and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in detail before demonstrating how lending processes with Aave work. We then explore the key features of decentralised exchanges and derivatives. Finally, the course compares the risks surrounding DeFi to its major advantages over traditional methods. Sign up for this course to learn how DeFi is changing the way money moves around the fascinating world of finance.