University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Cryptogatekeepers in decentralized finance: Conflicts of interest and prospective solutions
Abstract
dc:descriptionBlockchain is commonly understood as a trustless system for electronic transactions characterized by decentralization and disintermediation. This innovation has enabled the technological distribution of financial services known as Decentralized Finance or DeFi. DeFi allegedly eliminates financial intermediaries, considered complicit in financial crises, and seen with distrust. As a result, intermediaries are substituted with platforms, thus allegedly eliminating conflicts of interest between promoters and investors in DeFi. Nevertheless, intermediaries in DeFi exist but under a different guise. The demand for intermediaries has increased to facilitate transactions as they become more complex. With their appearance, they perform some of the functions of traditional intermediaries. This dissertation’s goal is to contribute to the foundational understanding and systematization of DeFi. The purpose of this understanding is to debunk the myth of disintermediation, demonstrating that some intermediaries remain. Moreover, this interpretative step helps identify remaining intermediaries, examine the conflicts of interest among actors in cryptomarkets, and suggest how intermediaries may mitigate these conflicts.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- J.S.D.
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Dissertation
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Law
- Grantor
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Year dc:date
- 2024
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Villanueva Collao, Vanessa A.
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- Winship, Verity
- Aviram, Amitai
- McClane, Jeremy
- Ulen, Thomas S.
Subjects
dc:subject × 8Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- Copyright 2024 Vanessa Villanueva Collao
- Language dc:language
- en, eng
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Handle dc:identifier
- https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127208