2023-01-08-国际清算银行-加密货币和分散金融（DeFi）（英）_79页_2mb

BIS Working Paper Summary: Cryptocurrencies and Decentralized Finance

Authors: Igor Makarov and Antoinette Schoor
Date: April 24, 2022
Context: Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Working Paper, December 2022, explores cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi), highlighting potential benefits, challenges, and regulation.

1. Introduction to DeFi
   DeFi leverages blockchain technology to reduce reliance on centralized intermediaries, potentially lowering transaction costs and democratizing access. However, it faces issues like economic rents, regulatory evasion, and inefficiencies due to endogenous constraints to competition.

2. Blockchain Technology
   Both Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanisms have economic incentives leading to validator concentration, creating risks such as 51% attacks in PoW and collusion in PoS. Scalability trade-offs and security externalities (e.g., large networks harming smaller ones) limit competition.

3. Smart Contracts
   Smart contracts automate execution without legal enforcement, reducing flexibility and increasing risks like contract breaches, privacy concerns, and the need for trusted intermediaries (e.g., coders). Challenges include writing complete contracts upfront and consumer financial protection gaps.

4. Current Crypto Landscape
   Includes Stablecoins (e.g., Tether, Dai) and non-stablecoins (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum-based tokens). DeFi applications (trading, lending, yield farming) have grown rapidly, but suffer from systemic risks, high leverage positions, and governance issues.

5. DeFi vs. Traditional Finance

   • Data Privacy: Pseudonymity in DeFi challenges KYC/AML compliance and tax enforcement.
   • Economic Rents: Concentration in validators and platforms persists despite open-source promises.
   • Transaction Costs: Low margins in DeFi offset by high upfront costs and risks.
   • Governance: DAOs offer decentralization but face traditional governance challenges, often relying on off-chain mechanisms.
   • Systemic Risk: Leverage in DeFi amplifies volatility; algorithmic Stablecoins like UST can collapse, causing market-wide spillovers.

6. Regulation
   Proposed solutions target validators and developers to ensure accountability, such as requiring certified addresses for transactions. If this fails, DeFi risks regulatory arbitrage and undermines financial stability.

7. Conclusion
   DeFi has potential benefits but amplifies risks like economic rents and externalities. Regulators should promote innovation while ensuring accountability, suggesting a balanced approach with international coordination.

Key Recommendations

• Regulate key entities like stablecoin issuers and DeFi platforms to mitigate risks.
• Encourage technological solutions with validators checking certified entities.
• Address cross-jurisdictional challenges to prevent systemic disruptions.