During the last decade, Blockchain and cryptographic technologies have enabled the creation of a parallel decentralized financial system, out of the formal control of authorities and institutions. This trend, recognized as “Decentralized Finance” (DeFi), is growing exponentially and has surged as the latest buzzword in the Fintech world, recalling the attention of the regulators. The literature review conducted on the phenomenon has detected lacks and ambiguities in the definition and uncertainty in the distinction between DeFi services and other applications of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies. Therefore, the study has been aimed at producing a conceptual framework that could investigate the Decentralized Finance phenomenon in terms of its differential characteristics, impacts, and business applications. First, a broad set of information sources have been collected and analyzed according to a specific adaptation of the word-coding methodology in order to identify the foundational elements of the concept; then, through further literature research, extended to the identified elements, a prospective conceptual framework and a tentative definition have been developed to allow the aforementioned classification; finally, an empirical analysis has been conducted aiming to validate the proposed framework and definition. The study provides to the scientific literature not only a precise definition from a managerial perspective of the Decentralized Finance phenomenon but also a conceptual framework, which can serve as a foundation for the development of future research. Besides, having resulted as one of the most complex aspects from the literature review, the study has placed a particular focus on the functioning of decentralized governance, evaluating the process and the current state of decentralization in DeFi applications.
Nell’ultimo decennio, le tecnologie Blockchain e crittografiche hanno consentito la creazione di un sistema finanziario parallelo e decentralizzato, fuori dal controllo formale di autorità ed istituzioni. Questa tendenza, denominata “Decentralized Finance” (DeFi), sta crescendo in misura esponenziale ed è diventata l’ultima parola d’ordine nel mondo Fintech, richiamando l’attenzione dei regolatori. L’analisi della letteratura condotta sul fenomeno ha evidenziato mancanze ed ambiguità nella definizione e confusione nella distinzione tra servizi DeFi ed altre applicazioni Blockchain e Distributed Ledger Technology. Pertanto, lo studio ha avuto come obiettivo la creazione di un framework concettuale che potesse esaminare il fenomeno della Decentralized Finance rispetto alle sue caratteristiche differenziali, agli impatti ed alle applicazioni di business. Per prima cosa, un’ampia gamma di informazioni è stata raccolta ed analizzata attraverso uno specifico adattamento della metodologia del word-coding, al fine di identificare gli elementi fondanti del concetto; in seguito, attraverso ulteriori analisi della letteratura, estesa agli elementi identificati in precedenza, un framework prospettico ed un tentativo di definizione sono stati sviluppati per consentire la classificazione del fenomeno; infine, un’analisi empirica è stata condotta al fine di validare il framework e la definizione proposti. Lo studio contribuisce alla letteratura scientifica non solo con una precisa definizione di “Decentralized Finance” dal punto di vista manageriale, ma anche attraverso un framework concettuale che serve come base per gli sviluppi futuri della ricerca. Inoltre, essendo risultato dalla letteratura come uno degli aspetti più complessi, lo studio ha posto particolare attenzione sul funzionamento dei meccanismi di governance decentralizzata, valutando il processo e lo stato corrente della decentralizzazione nelle applicazioni DeFi.
Decentralized finance : conceptual framework and definition of a new potential financial system
Santoriello, Marco
2019/2020
Abstract
During the last decade, Blockchain and cryptographic technologies have enabled the creation of a parallel decentralized financial system, out of the formal control of authorities and institutions. This trend, recognized as “Decentralized Finance” (DeFi), is growing exponentially and has surged as the latest buzzword in the Fintech world, recalling the attention of the regulators. The literature review conducted on the phenomenon has detected lacks and ambiguities in the definition and uncertainty in the distinction between DeFi services and other applications of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies. Therefore, the study has been aimed at producing a conceptual framework that could investigate the Decentralized Finance phenomenon in terms of its differential characteristics, impacts, and business applications. First, a broad set of information sources have been collected and analyzed according to a specific adaptation of the word-coding methodology in order to identify the foundational elements of the concept; then, through further literature research, extended to the identified elements, a prospective conceptual framework and a tentative definition have been developed to allow the aforementioned classification; finally, an empirical analysis has been conducted aiming to validate the proposed framework and definition. The study provides to the scientific literature not only a precise definition from a managerial perspective of the Decentralized Finance phenomenon but also a conceptual framework, which can serve as a foundation for the development of future research. Besides, having resulted as one of the most complex aspects from the literature review, the study has placed a particular focus on the functioning of decentralized governance, evaluating the process and the current state of decentralization in DeFi applications.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/170383