DeFi Lending Protocols are decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms that allow users to borrow and lend cryptocurrencies without intermediaries such as banks. In these protocols, borrowers can use their cryptocurrency holdings as collateral to secure a loan. The collateral is held by the protocol and is returned to the borrower once the loan is repaid. On the flip side, lenders can earn interest on their cryptocurrency holdings by lending them to borrowers on the platform.
The explosive growth of the cryptocurrency industry has attracted hundreds of billions of dollars. However, as the industry has expanded, so has the number of scams and vulnerabilities. These risks are not yet fully understood at the individual and protocol level. This article aims to provide an illustration of the most important economic risk vectors for DeFi lending protocols. We examine the main components that make up lending protocols and the factors users should consider to manage risk exposure.
Why is risk management in DeFi important?
Effective monitoring and control of risk is crucial to any financial service. Recent events in the DeFi market have shown that risk management is vital to spur the growth of the sector. Both users and protocols must prioritize risk management as a key component to the success of the DeFi ecosystem.
Although technical issues caused most of the attacks on DeFi, economic risks led to an increase in financial losses. In general, economic risks can be complex. However, these risks can be managed by monitoring the indicators. These include shifts in liquidity within the protocols, participation from active liquidators, whale activity, and user leverage. In addition, users have the ability to take steps to protect themselves from economic risks.
This widget uses indicators from Risk Radar at IntoTheBlocks A platform to view examples of active risk control. The data shown in the indicators are taken from Benqi protocol.
Filter indicators
Liquidations are important in DeFi protocols as they help maintain the stability and well-being of lending platforms. In DeFi lending, borrowers typically use their cryptocurrency holdings as collateral for the loans they receive. If the value of the collateral falls below a certain limit, it becomes a borrower’s position Not guaranteed.
To prevent defaults and bad debts in the protocol, DeFi lending protocols will filter unsecured positions. Protocols sells collateral on the open market to pay off the loan. This process is usually done by independent liquidators who work within the ecosystem. Total, This process helps ensure that lenders’ deposits are safe and maintains the solvency of the platform.
The Liquidators Leaderboard can help DeFi lending protocols mitigate risk by providing information about the effectiveness and efficiency of liquidators’ activity.
By examining the data presented in the leaderboard, the protocol can evaluate the performance of the liquidators and identify trends. This may include the most successful liquidators and the types of collateral most commonly liquidated. This data can be used to make modifications to the protocol filtering process. This may take the form Incentivize high-performing liquidators or modify collateral requirements for certain assets.
Borrowing indicators
Borrowing activity is critical to assessing the health and growth of the DeFi lending protocol. A high level of borrowing activity usually indicates a high demand for credit. This can be a positive sign for the growth of the protocol. Additionally, monitoring borrowing activity can help the protocol manage risk, as it allows the protocol to identify potential problems, such as over-reliance on a single asset or borrower. By tracking borrowing activity, the protocol can adjust its lending policies and collateral requirements to manage its exposure. Thus, maintaining the solvency of the platform.
Health factor distribution index
The Health Factor Distribution index tracks how close a center is to liquidation. If the health factor is less than 1, it can be liquidated, resulting in a loss for the borrower. The health factor distribution index shows the proportion of borrowers within a given range of health factors, excluding recurring loans. This indicator is useful for analyzing different ranges of protocol borrowers. If most of the supply has a low health factor, the solvency of the pool/protocol is at risk due to large liquidations.
The index provides valuable insights for both depositors and liquidators. As the number of loans at risk of liquidation increases, depositors’ investment in the protocol becomes riskier. On the other hand, liquidators can use this information to their advantage. This is particularly the case during periods of market volatility, as the indicator can predict where large liquidations are likely to occur.
In addition, a balanced distribution of health factors indicates that loans in the protocol are evenly distributed among borrowers. Thus, reducing the possibility of liquidating all loans at once. This refers to a decentralized and diversified lending portfolio, which is generally seen as a positive feature of DeFi lending protocols.
A DeFi lending protocol with a high distribution of health factors is safer for depositors as it reduces the possibility of large-scale liquidations. Such massive liquidations are often unprofitable for liquidators due to slippage on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Therefore, a higher distribution of health factors should give depositors greater confidence in their positions within the protocol.
lending indicators
The net liquidity flow indicator monitors the inflows, outflows, and net liquidity inflows of the protocol. This indicator helps identify potential liquidity risk vectors that may trigger actions between issuers. For example, a large influx of funds could mean that users withdraw their funds due to concerns about the integrity of the protocol, which could lead to a liquidity crisis. On the contrary, a large influx of funds may indicate the user’s confidence in the stability and security of the protocol.
This metric provides valuable information that allows the protocol to identify potential liquidity risks that may lead to activities among its users. In response to any issues, the protocol can make necessary adjustments to risk management strategies and take measures to protect itself from bad debts. For example, you might consider increasing your warranty requirements. Or it may reduce the loan-to-value ratios on its loans to reduce its exposure to risk.
Track the whales
Tracking the activity of the whales in the lending protocols is important because these large players have the potential to influence the market significantly. Their actions can affect the supply and demand for assets within the protocol, resulting in volatility and potential risks for other users. By monitoring whale activity, lending protocols can gain insight into potential market movements and adjust risk management strategies accordingly.
This metric monitors the lending, reimbursement and liquidation activities of large depositors in the DeFi lending protocol. It can be useful to analyze the strategies of high volume traders and the intentions behind them.
Provides the above indicator Insight into the borrowing patterns of the largest Benqi protocol users, which can be useful in protecting against bad debts. By examining the data, the protocol and its users can detect any potential risks or weaknesses in the lending portfolio, such as over-reliance on a small group of users or excessive borrowing.
Leverage indicators
Iterative lending strategies are those that borrow an asset which is then replenished on the lending side and potentially borrowed again. Thus, Dion rephrased the protocol. This type of strategy has been gaining traction in the DeFi space to earn larger token rewards on a given asset. However, it carries some risks as it requires constant monitoring of market conditions and interest rate fluctuations to prevent liquidation.
Understanding the DeFi recurring lending ratio can be useful in assessing the protocol’s stability and yield generation potential. The liquidity ratio derived from recursive lending strategies can indicate how heavily the protocol relies on incentives to attract depositors.
A high percentage of recursive lending may indicate that liquidity is less stable and more prone to short-term yield farming rather than long-term adherence to protocol.
In addition, the percentage of liquidity offered by recursive lending strategies can serve as an indicator of the level of return generated in the DeFi protocol. This is useful in evaluating potential investment opportunities.
Understand the lending protocols and be aware of the risks
DeFi is constantly evolving, and the right tools like the ones discussed in this article can help move the ecosystem in the right direction. While DeFi offers attractive return opportunities, it also poses significant risks. Keeping track of all of these risks is essential, especially when depositing large sums.
On the other side, The industry is establishing best practices to mitigate technical and economic risks, such as selecting audits, using multiple deposit management tools, and optimizing price feed oracles. With the transparent tool insights that open source crypto provides, the industry as a whole can both strengthen and mitigate economic risks. Although risks still exist, developers and users can better understand and take measures to mitigate them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Iterative lending, also known as looping, is a strategy in DeFi whereby users borrow a specific asset, deposit it back into the same protocol, and borrow more assets against it. This strategy has become popular in DeFi because it allows users to get a greater amount of token incentives on top of a specific asset.
The danger of this strategy is that it relies heavily on the stability of interest rates. A sudden change in prices can lead to liquidations and losses. In addition, frequent lending can also lead to concentration risk, where a large amount of liquidity is concentrated in a few users or positions, making the protocol vulnerable to sudden withdrawals or market shifts.
Monitoring the borrowing behavior of large users is important for DeFi protocols because it can help them identify potential risks and weaknesses in their lending portfolio, such as concentration risk or excessive leverage.
Investing in DeFi protocols comes with higher return opportunities than traditional financing, but it also comes with greater risks, such as vulnerabilities in smart contracts, liquidity risks, and market volatility. These risks can be mitigated by implementing best practices such as regular audits, using multiple deposit management elements, and building more resilient price feed oracles. Additionally, users can mitigate the risks by doing their own research and being aware of the risks involved before depositing large sums into DeFi protocols.
Disclaimer
All information on our website is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. Any action taken by the reader regarding the information on our site is at his own risk.
