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ISSUE 10.28.26/24 CATEGORIES

blockchain

11 articles tagged with #blockchain

Close-up of financial documents, credit cards, coins, and a pen on a wooden desk.
Finance & Crypto

How Decentralized Finance Works: Smart Contracts, Lending, and Real Risks

Decentralized finance (DeFi) replaces banks with automated smart contracts running on blockchain networks. Instead of submitting a loan application to a bank, you deposit collateral into a smart contract; instead of a savings account earning interest, you provide liquidity to a decentralized exchange and earn transaction fees. DeFi operates on the premise that financial infrastructure can be transparent, permissionless, and governed by code rather than institutions. The mechanisms are real and operational, handling tens of billions in assets. The risks are equally real: smart contract bugs have erased hundreds of millions in user funds, 'rug pull' scams have vaporized billions, and impermanent loss is a mathematical cost of providing liquidity to automated trading pools. This article explains how DeFi works mechanically and examines the structural risks that distinguish it from traditional finance.

Editorial Team·June 4, 2026·19 min
Euro banknotes and cryptocurrency coins arranged on a white surface with blocks spelling 'SAVE'.
Finance & Crypto

Ethereum in 2026: How It Works and What to Know

Ethereum is a blockchain network that extends cryptocurrency beyond Bitcoin's payments functionality to programmable contracts and decentralized applications. Unlike Bitcoin, which is primarily a peer-to-peer currency, Ethereum allows developers to deploy software (smart contracts) that executes agreements automatically without intermediaries. The Ethereum network operates on a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism (as of 2022), meaning validators stake cryptocurrency to secure the network rather than competing to solve mathematical puzzles. Ethereum's cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), is used to pay for transaction fees (gas) and to incentivize validators. Ethereum has become the largest platform for decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). This article explains how Ethereum works technically, the role of smart contracts and validators, current layer 2 scaling solutions, real use cases, and informed criticisms of the system. This is educational information about mechanisms, not investment advice.

Editorial Team·June 4, 2026·16 min