The contributors at ConsenSys, a Brooklyn, New York-based Ethereum-related development studio, have published a blog post in which they have revealed that decentralized finance (DeFi) has “grown into one of the most active sectors” of the blockchain industry in 2019.

Included in the evolving set of core technologies that now make up the globally accessible DeFi platforms are stablecoins, decentralized crypto exchanges, or DEXs (and/or exchanges that do not hold users’ private keys), multi-currency wallets, and various payment gateways, ConsenSys’ blog post noted.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Ecosystem Is “Flourishing”

Published on March 29th, 2019, ConsenSys’ blog post mentions that the nascent DeFi ecosystem now also includes “lending and insurance platforms, key infrastructural development, marketplaces, and investment engines.”

The developers at ConsenSys estimate: 

All in all, decentralized finance projects now range in the thousands, and we’re seeing the early stages of a whole new industry.

Notable Decentralized Payment Technologies (Under Development)

As noted in ConsenSys’ blog, some of the leading organizations and platforms contributing to the development of decentralized payment technologies include:

  • Request Network: A decentralized payments network for building distributed applications – with support for Ethereum and IPFS (InterPlanetary File System),
  • xDai Chain: An Ethereum-based “first ever USD-stable blockchain,”
  • OmiseGo: A platform focused on developing Ethereum-based, scalable payments solutions,
  • GroundHog: An initiative involving the creation of cryptocurrency-based subscriptions,
  • Raiden: A platform for creating Ethereum-based off-chain solutions for “instant and low-fee” payments,
  • Ink Protocol: a decentralized “reputation and payment” protocol

Stablecoin Projects

In addition to MakerDAO’s Dai, TrueUSD (TUSD), Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), Paxos Standard Token (PAX), Gemini’s Dollar (GUSD), there are some other notable stablecoin projects, ConsenSys’ blog stated. These include:

  • Augmint: A stablecoin backed 1:1 by Euros,
  • StableUnit: A decentralized privacy coin,
  • Digix: “Physical gold with DGX tokens, where 1 DGX represents 1 gram of gold on Ethereum,”

Infrastructure-Focused Projects

ConsenSys’ extensive blog post also lists some key crypto infrastructure-related projects:

  • 0x: An open-source protocol for building decentralized crypto exchanges,
  • DutchX: A peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol for trading ERC-20 compliant tokens,
  • Settle: An internet-based dashboard and operating system (OS) for DeFi applications,
  • 0xcert: A protocol for managing Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs),

Finally, ConsenSys’ blog mentions a few important liquidity and crypto exchanges:

  • Airswap: Decentralized Ethereum-based platform for trading digital assets,
  • Liquality: A platform that aims to help users exchange cryptocurrencies without requiring intermediaries,
  • Paradex: A “token-relay” project acquired by American crypto exchange, Coinbase,
  • Ethfinex: A “hybrid” decentralized exchange developed by Bitfinex,
  • Loopring: A leading protocol for “decentralized token exchange”