ABSTRACT

DeFi (‘decentralized finance’) has joined FinTech (‘financial technology’), RegTech (‘regulatory technology’), cryptocurrencies, and digital assets as one of the most discussed emerging technological evolutions in global finance. Yet little is really understood about its meaning, legal implications, and policy consequences. In this article we introduce DeFi, put DeFi in the context of the traditional financial economy, connect DeFi to open banking, and end with some policy considerations. We suggest that decentralization has the potential to undermine traditional forms of accountability and erode the effectiveness of traditional financial regulation and enforcement. At the same time, we find that where parts of the financial services value chain are decentralized, there will be a reconcentration in a different (but possibly less regulated, less visible, and less transparent) part of the value chain. DeFi regulation could, and should, focus on this reconcentrated portion of the value chain to ensure effective oversight and risk control. Rather than eliminating the need for regulation, in fact DeFi requires regulation in order to achieve its core objective of decentralization. Furthermore, DeFi potentially offers an opportunity for the development of an entirely new way to design regulation: the idea of ‘embedded regulation’. Regulatory approaches could be built into the design of DeFi, thus potentially decentralizing both finance and its regulation, in the ultimate expression of RegTech.

中文翻译：

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去中心化金融

摘要

DeFi（“去中心化金融”）已加入FinTech（“金融技术”），RegTech（“监管技术”），加密货币和数字资产，成为全球金融中讨论最多的新兴技术发展之一。对其含义，法律含义和政策后果知之甚少。在本文中，我们将介绍DeFi，将DeFi置于传统金融经济的背景下，将DeFi连接到开放式银行，并以一些政策方面的考虑作为结束。我们建议，权力下放有可能破坏传统的问责形式，削弱传统金融监管和执行的有效性。同时，我们发现，在金融服务价值链的各个部分去中心化的地方，将有一个重新集中的领域（但可能受到较少的监管，价值链的可见性和透明性较差的部分）。DeFi监管可以而且应该专注于价值链的这一重新集中部分，以确保有效的监督和风险控制。事实上，DeFi并不需要消除监管，而是需要监管才能实现其权力下放的核心目标。此外，DeFi可能为开发一种全新的法规设计方式提供了机会：“嵌入式法规”的思想。监管方法可以内置到DeFi的设计中，从而有可能在RegTech的最终表达中分散财务及其监管。DeFi并不需要消除监管，而是需要监管以实现其权力下放的核心目标。此外，DeFi可能为开发一种全新的法规设计方式（“嵌入式法规”的概念）提供了机会。监管方法可以内置到DeFi的设计中，从而有可能在RegTech的最终表达中分散财务及其监管。事实上，DeFi并不需要消除监管，而是需要监管才能实现其权力下放的核心目标。此外，DeFi可能为开发一种全新的法规设计方式提供了机会：“嵌入式法规”的思想。监管方法可以内置到DeFi的设计中，从而有可能在RegTech的最终表达中分散财务及其监管。