What is DeFi? Your Complete Beginner’s Guide to Decentralised Finance

Decentralised Finance (DeFi) refers to a system of financial applications built on blockchain technology that removes the need for traditional intermediaries like banks, brokers, or financial institutions. Instead of relying on central authorities, DeFi uses smart contracts — self-executing programs on blockchains such as Ethereum — to facilitate financial transactions.In simple terms, DeFi allows people to lend, borrow, trade, save, and invest money directly with one another through digital platforms without needing a bank account.Think of it as creating a parallel financial system on the internet that is open to everyone, operates 24/7, and is governed by code rather than middlemen.