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Duke University

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Infrastructure

Decentralized Finance: The Future of Finance is a set of four courses taught by Campbell R. Harvey (Professor of Finance at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research) that focus on decentralized finance (DeFi). In this first course, we begin by exploring the origins of DeFi and take a broad historical view from the earliest barter economies, such as the first peer-to-peer exchanges of bartering, to present day. The course also looks at historical examples of money having value even though it is not officially backed. We then focus on the key infrastructure components: blockchain, cryptocurrency, smart contracts, oracles, stablecoins and decentralized applications (or dApps). This includes discussion of the mechanics of the Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchains including cryptographic hashing. Next, we focus on the specific problems that DeFi is designed to solve: inefficiency (costly, slow, and insecure today), limited access (1.7 billion are unbanked), opacity (we need to trust regulators to monitor banks and the regulators have mixed records), centralized control (financial system is oligopolistic imposing higher fees than we would have in a competitive market) and lack of interoperability (it is difficult to move funds from one financial institution to another today). The course closes by exploring many of the myths about the crypto space.

Status: Financial Regulation
Status: Banking
BeginnerCourse6 hours

Featured reviews

NS

4.0Reviewed May 29, 2022

I personally would prefer a little bit more challenging tests and more of practical work.However, I really enjoyed the course and are planning to continue.

AS

5.0Reviewed Aug 17, 2022

Sofar I found this course very refreshing & clear overvieuw into the Crypto & DeFi space.Seeing there is alot of misinformation out there,so this gives you a good base.

CK

4.0Reviewed Feb 12, 2022

This is a great intro class to DeFi. If you are in finanace, this is a must take class. The pofessor knows what he is talking about, the pace is perfect for me, and the content is rich.

BG

5.0Reviewed Jan 27, 2022

Loved the way Professor Harvey explains the newly minted ideas in DeFi space. Excellent course.Indeed, the future is DeFi. Let the wealth (?) spread across the globe, evenly!

RA

5.0Reviewed Nov 19, 2025

Excellent course, learnt a lot about Decentralised Finance and Crypto Currency. Mr Campbell is an very knowledgeable teacher and thoroughly enjoyed the course

FS

5.0Reviewed Jul 15, 2022

An excellent and much recommended course for beginners! Helped me understand the basics of blockchain technology and its operations. Definely enrolling for more courses from Mr. Campbell.

XS

4.0Reviewed Feb 19, 2023

Good for beginners to understand some basic ideas and terminologies in cryptocurrency area, but there are some computer science mistakes in the videos, though they're minor.

JP

5.0Reviewed Jul 30, 2022

G​reat introduction for a novice or someone that already has crypto knowlegable. A bit intermeidate with finance concepts, I recommend having some introductory knowledge.

OR

5.0Reviewed Dec 20, 2021

G​reat course! It does help that I am a finance student with a little bit of running knowledge of economics, and traditional finance. Also helps me see the centralized system from another angle!

TN

5.0Reviewed Apr 13, 2022

Great introduction into DeFi, the professor walks us through key definitions, a bit of history, potential applications and common misunderstandings about this space. Good launching pad to dive deeper

RR

5.0Reviewed May 16, 2022

​instructor is excellant. I had a basic knowledge but now I can structure my thoughts and how I communicate Blockchain. I am so exciteed to learn more!

SR

4.0Reviewed May 14, 2022

T​he course covers the very basics of Blockchain tech and DeFi in an easy to understand manner. It will allow you to better understand commentary on cryptomarkets in the popular media.

All reviews

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