Fraunhofer Blockchain Lab

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) – Foundations, Applications, Potentials, and Challenges

The Fraunhofer Blockchain Lab published a study entitled "Decentralized Finance (DeFi) – Foundations, Applications, Potentials, and Challenges" shedding light on the nascent phenomenon of DeFi. The study explains the technical fundamentals, provides an overview of application areas and specific use cases, and discusses the potentials and challenges to foster a comprehensive understanding of the current state of DeFi.

Whitepaper »Decentralized Finance (DeFi) – Foundations, Applications, Potentials, and Challenges« [ PDF 5,5 MB ]

Fraunhofer's Blockchain Lab is a multi-disciplinary unit that designs, develops and evaluates blockchain applications. We transfer the latest R&D results in this young field into practical, integrative applications, putting special emphasis on short development cycles.

We work with you in developing customized solutions that meet your needs

• in one-day or multi-day workshops
• in applied research projects (analyzing the technology's potential or going all the way to implementing a system)
• with industry groups or cross-industry consortia
• developing and evaluating new forms of governance and business models

A blockchain is a distributed, decentralized data structure that provides for transparent chronological and unalterable storage of transactions in a network.

Properties

• Data management by the network instead of a centralized authority
• Unalterable transaction history through cryptographic principles

Potential advantages

• Transaction processing and verification without intermediaries
• Risk reduction through data and process integrity
• Cost reductions by avoiding intermediary services
• Automatic processes through smart contracts
• New forms of governance through novel processes
• Cross-industry ecosystems

Designing blockchain business models

• Creating individual or industry-wide business concepts
• Analyzing market potential, evaluating and developing disruptive solutions

Implementing blockchain technology

• Providing a development platform with several different blockchain systems (P2P network, validation server etc.)
• Developing blockchain applications
• Evaluating blockchain concepts

Legal and regulatory environment

• Counseling on the relevant legal aspects
• Evaluating blockchain systems and business models from a regulatory perspective
  
  

Bespoke solutions in complex application fields, based on blockchain concepts: Smart contracts and decentralized, autonomous forms of organization for more efficient governance and business processes.

• Internet of Things
• (Intellectual) property management
• Stock exchange trading
• Asset management
• Clearing processes