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Industry execs voice confidence in DeFi adoption despite security flaws

1inch Network co-founder Anton Bukov believes that recent events in the centralized finance space have highlighted the importance of DeFi.

With decentralized finance (DeFi) being a hub for various hacks and exploits, some may feel discouraged or wary of entering the space. However, professionals within the crypto space are confident that DeFi will have broader adoption in the future. 

From educating institutional investors to eliminating user experience barriers for retail investors, Web3 executives shared their thoughts on how broader DeFi adoption can be achieved.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Anton Bukov, the co-founder of 1inch Network, believes that recent events in centralized finance (CeFi) have highlighted the importance of DeFi. The executive believes it’s just “a matter of time” before the financial system switches to Web3 solutions. In terms of institutional DeFi adoption, Bukov noted that it’s essential to have a deep understanding. He explained that:

“The key to DeFi adoption among institutional investors is a deep understanding of transparency benefits, trustless approach and self-custodian technologies.”

The executive also gave advice to DeFi projects in terms of security issues. According to Bukov, performing security audits is of utmost importance. “My advice to any DeFi project is simple – don’t be lazy to do several security audits before releasing any update, this will save you a ton of nerves and highly likely – users’ funds,” he said.

Dmitry Tolok, the co-founder of Primex Finance, also commented on the topic of DeFi security. According to Tolok, more insurance protocols may help push the adoption for DeFi. He explained that:

“More insurance protocols are also needed to mitigate concerns related to potential hacks. The growth of such protocols would lead to the organic development and growth of DeFi.”

Tolok also told Cointelegraph that a more mature market with more mechanisms that deal with vulnerabilities will eventually lead to more investor confidence. 

Related: A year after Taproot, Bitcoin community works to unlock its DeFi potential

Meanwhile, BNB Chain executive Alvin Kan highlighted the importance of education to spark broader DeFi adoption. Kan told Cointelegraph that there needs to be more education for users. He explained that:

“Given the permissionless and digital nature of DeFi, risks will always be present, and users need to understand how to do their own due diligence to minimize the risk they’re taking on.”

Jay Sullivan, the founder of XSwap Protocol, also echoed the same sentiment. Sullivan agrees that education is vital for keeping the space safe. Sullivan highlighted the importance of “teaching investors how to keep their funds safe.” Apart from storage, the executive believes that it’s also important to teach investors “what to look for” when looking to invest.

Apart from education, the executive also pointed out how regulation will play a role in broader DeFi adoption. “With the collapse of several centralized exchanges this year, investors have seen the importance of DeFi. However, for institutional investors to enter, we need to see the industry evolve,” he added.

Zachary Vann, a World Mobile executive, highlighted the importance of enhancing user experience. According to Vann, navigating DeFi can be challenging and overwhelming to newbies. “Once the user experience is improved and the barrier to entry reduced it should help exponentially the amount of retail coming into DeFi,” he said.

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DeFi needs a ‘killer app’ to go next level, says Ripple exec

A panel at the Blockchain Futurist Conference was asked about the future of decentralized finance and what was needed to be done to bring about mainstream adoption.

A “killer app” for consumers is what will be needed to bring the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector to a level that draws in a mainstream audience, said Ripple Lab’s head of DeFi markets Boris Alergant.

Alergant nade the comments during a panel at the Blockchain Futurist Conference titled "The Future of Decentralized Finance" on Aug. 9, which was covered by Cointelegraph reporters on the ground in Toronto, Canada.

Alongside Alergant, Aventus Ventures CEO Kevin Hobbs, FLUIDEFI co-founder and CEO Lisa Loud, and Teller Finance CEO and co-founder Ryan Berkin also featured on the panel.

The general sentiment among the panelists was that centralized finance institutions will ultimately push DeFi towards mainstream adoption. Alergant suggested that growth will likely come from a user-friendly CeFi app that offers exposure to DeFi services:

“For an average user, you tell your mom how to go out and stake on Aave or ETH [...] and this is a process. She doesn’t know how to use MetaMask, but she wants to generate that yield somehow. She wants to transact but she doesn’t know how to do it.”

“So I think institutional adoption is where it's going, and the institutions are what is going to enable [...] that killer app for consumers to really bring crypto and DeFi to the next level.”

FLUIDEFI co-founder and CEO Loud expressed a similar view, noting how the everyday person eventually adopted the internet despite not understanding the internet protocol suite, also known as TCP/IP. 

“We all use the internet right? The internet was a paradigm shift for us, but we don't know how to use TCP/IP. Right now, everybody who uses DeFi knows how to use the protocols, it's not sustainable, it's not a good model for adoption.”

“If we look at two years, I see institutions investing more in DeFi and I see companies making simpler user experiences,” she added.

The Ripple executive also outlined that the DeFi sector will soon work hand in hand with the CeFi sector to provide financial services to customers.

“DeFi will ultimately supplement and complement CeFi. In the end you don’t really care if a trade is done through decentralized means in a centralized exchange. I just want the best damn execution,” he said.

Related: Decentralized finance faces multiple barriers to mainstream adoption

The Blockchain Futurist Conference is the largest annual blockchain and crypto conference in Toronto, Canada, and is running until Aug. 10. 2022, marking the fifth year of the event. This year's event is expected to see Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin speak there despite appearing at the Korea Blockchain Week only two days ago.

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