By George Ward
Decentralized and centralized finance sectors are known to have complementary roles. Cryptocurrency industry experts state that the digital asset ecosystem can benefit immensely from centralized finance if roles and domains are clearly outlined.
Accordingly, the Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has discussed balancing centralized finance (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Finding A Balance
With the crypto market’s highly decentralized system, there has been a long-standing debate on how to find the right balance for CeFi and DeFi without disrupting the industry’s efficiency. The crypto market has continued to evolve despite starting with a decentralized peer-to-peer transaction with no known centralized control.
However, the crypto industry saw a shift with the rise of centralized exchanges (CEXs), making the market more centralized, hence the recent debate between CeFi and DeFi. CeFi involves crypto trading platforms or exchanges that function within a centralized system.
While DeFi refers to the decentralized framework consisting of financial applications and protocols running on a non-centralized blockchain network. However, both have their inherent strengths and weaknesses. CeFi is seen as more user-friendly and provides more liquidity.
Conversely, DeFi has more transparency by allowing users greater control over their funds. Ultimately, traditional finance and the crypto industry have had a tumultuous past, with the digital asset industry facing numerous bankruptcies, hacks, collapses, and scams.
The November 2022 collapse of FTX (the second-largest CeFi platform after Binance) shocked the crypto world. Since then, the CeFi sector has seen itself as the focus of debate and scrutiny from regulators.
Experts opined the best way to strike a balance between the two crypto domains is that the market needs to find a way to utilize the strength of both platforms while minimizing their weaknesses. The experts also believe there is a need to bridge the gap between CeFi and DeFi using decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
Binance Boss Airs His Opinion
Meanwhile, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the chief executive of the world’s biggest crypto exchange, Binance, has shared his opinion regarding the issue with CeFi and DeFi. Speaking at the Hong Kong Web3 Conference, CZ noted that the security of the CeFi ecosystem is different from DeFi and that none is safer than the other.
According to him, there is a need to take the security concerns of both domains seriously. Furthermore, the Binance CEO suggests transparency, especially within the CeFi ecosystem.
CZ added that this could be done by developing a verifiable proof of reserves to help assure users that their funds are safe. Regarding DeFi, CZ noted that safeguarding user wallets’ private keys is an important thing worth considering.
However, some DeFi platforms are still vulnerable due to their complex nature. Ultimately, the CEO stressed that CeFi and DeFi have different features and risks.
Zhao noted that centralized institutions are currently facing extreme scrutiny, and to address this, CEXs need to build trust to attract users back. Moreover, CZ believes that crypto adoption will keep surging, but the industry must have regulatory clarity to make further progress.