Replying to legiteum : "I simply don't get DeFi. I have yet to hear a good explanation of it that used specifics instead of some vague hand waving. And most of the projects I've seen that call themselves DeFi are actually... centralized. And as such they are no different than an ordinary financial institution. I don't have a problem with companies trying to innovate in the financial space, and that's a good thing, but calling it "DeFi" sounds like hype to me."

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I get where you're coming from, mpoletiek—haha! Apologies for being another vague hand-waver! But you’re right, there’s a lot of buzzwords in the DeFi space that can make things murky, and not all projects live up to the purist decentralized vision. DeFi is essentially about using blockchain technology to remove traditional intermediaries (and thereby reducing costs substantially, removing inefficiencies, increasing transparency etc). You're also right that many projects marketed as "DeFi" may still have centralized aspects, which makes them feel like just another financial institution. I guess this is the corner we as a community are trying to turn, together.

I believe the key to true decentralization, and thereby more financial inclusion/freedom, rests in the governance structure of any said project. That’s the only tangible way to give more people, more control over their finances and indirectly, their future -- when they have a direct say in the way money works.

While some projects have deviated from this principle, there are some like ShiftCTRL that is dedicated to these core tenets of sound money by leveraging Bitcoin-backed stablecoins and a community-driven governance structure where every member has a say in the framework’s future direction. I do encourage you to check out more about ShiftCTRL and our whitepaper (especially the governance framework) to see how we're moving closer to making decentralized finance a reality: https://www.shiftctrl.money/ Would love to hear more from you about this!