Decentralized finance: From intermediaries to protocols

Decentralized finance (DeFi) represents a fundamental reconfiguration of financial intermediation, replacing traditional institutions with programmable protocols, token-based governance, and distributed consensus mechanisms. While often described as a technological innovation, DeFi raises core institutional questions about how capital is raised, how control rights are allocated, and how information is produced and enforced in the absence of centralized intermediaries. By embedding financial mechanisms directly into code and distributing control through tokens, DeFi provides a unique laboratory for revisiting foundational debates in corporate and entrepreneurial finance.

Understanding this institutional reconfiguration is essential for assessing whether decentralized finance constitutes a transient experiment or a durable transformation of financial architecture. This editorial article synthesizes emerging insights from the literature and develops a forward-looking research agenda structured around decentralized entrepreneurial finance, protocol design, and governance and platform power.