scorecardresearchCoinDCX launches web3 app: What is DeFi and how is it different from cryptos?

CoinDCX launches web3 app: What is DeFi and how is it different from cryptos?

Updated: 30 Aug 2022, 01:44 PM IST
TL;DR.

As CoinDCX launched Okto app to bolster its web3 footprint. We explain what is decentralised finance, and its future outlook amid crackdown on cryptos

CoinDCX recently launched Okto app to make defi accessible to the masses 

CoinDCX recently launched Okto app to make defi accessible to the masses 

CoinDCX has recently launched an Okto mobile app in a bid to make decentralised finance accessible to the masses. This is quite pertinent at a when crypto exchanges are finding it hard to go about their business amid ongoing investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and a repeated cold shoulder by the government.

The Enforcement Directorate on August 11 froze assets worth 370 crore of cryptocurrency exchange Vauld. This was soon after the probe agency froze assets of WazirX in connection with a money laundering probe.

About Okto - CoinDCX wrote on its twitter handle, “Bringing to you Okto app. It CoinDCX’s first step towards making DeFi accessible to the masses.”

What is decentralised finance?

DeFi is a financial ecosystem of applications developed on blockchain technology that can execute transactions. These transactions are carried out through smart contracts on the blockchain.

This is, in fact, a system that enables investors to access financial products on a public decentralised blockchain network, making the financial products accessible to everyone and not only to those approaching via banks or financial institutions.

Unlike banks and other intermediaries, decentralised finance or DeFi does not require government ID or address proof. In other words, this is the system that allows buyers, sellers, borrowers and lenders to transact with each other via software on blockchain instead of approaching through a company.

Future outlook

CoinDCX’s co-founder Sumit Gupta believes that the web3 will turn out to be as big as the Internet in the years to come.

“Web3 can be much bigger than what Internet is today in the years to come. It is fundamentally very powerful and a phenomenal breakthrough,” says Sumit Gupta, co-founder and CEO of CoinDCX.

“It has a lot of potential. In 8-10 years, we will have a billion people using it. I am bullish about web3 in India and the products that would be developed here. There are developers and builders and India has a plenty of both. I want India to become web3 leader in the world and should have maximum unicorns than any other county in the world,” he adds.

Some experts, meanwhile, assert that DeFi cannot exist without cryptocurrencies and hence, has a limited scope in India.

“Decentralised finances are extended use of cryptocurrency where technological attempts are made to mimic functions of the financial market like saving and lending. In India, cryptocurrency is viewed as destabilizing force and decentralised finances will be no different. Without crypto, decentralised finance is non-existent. Of course, potential for decentralised finance is bright in countries like Switzerland, Singapore, Dubai whose economy revolves and centred around financial services,” says Gaurav Mehta, Founder, Catax - Simple Crypto Taxes.

So, it is vital to note that the web3 ecosystem, just as cryptos, does not come under the regulatory framework as yet.

Even CoinDCX on their handle have shared a disclaimer that states, “crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.”

Article
Decentralised finance enables investors to access financial products on a blockchain network. 
First Published: 30 Aug 2022, 01:44 PM IST