DeFi problems and opportunities in 2023: Market Talks

On this week’s episode of Market Talks, Cointelegraph welcomes Grant Shears, founder of Blocmates — an educational and consultancy company that aims to create crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 content that anyone can understand.

This week, to kick things off, the show takes a look at the emerging trends of 2023 and what people should look forward to. What industries could really take off this year, and which sector could have the most potential to grow?

It’s no secret that 2022 was not a great year for DeFi, an industry that arguably imploded on itself by offering unsustainable high yields that eventually caused the model to collapse. Host Ray Salmond, Cointelegraph’s head of markets, asks Shears if there are any projects this year that plan to fix this problem, and what that fix might look like.

Traditional finance (TradFi) seems to have caught up to DeFi since yields have increased from about 1% to 3.5% — and in some cases 4.65%. Plus, TradFi comes with a sense of security and safety. There are lower risks involved when compared with DeFi, where in order to get higher yields, users must also take on higher risks. Salmond asks Shears to shed some light on how DeFi can make a case for itself in this environment.

Ever heard of “NFT-Fi?” No? You’re not alone. Although it’s been around since 2020, not much has been discussed about it or its potential. On this episode, Salmond and Shears discuss what it is and what problems it aims to solve. 

Next up is some good ol’ technical analysis. The show looks at Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and a few altcoins to see what fundamentals Shears is currently tracking and how he’s trading this current market. Salmond and Shears also discuss Bitcoin’s recent price rally and whether it was a shift in trend or just another bull trap. 

People are getting excited about the new staked ETH unlocks coming with the Shanghai upgrade. Salmond gets Shears’ views on the upgrade and whether this could be another “buy the rumor, sell the news” situation like the Merge was or a catalyst for the next DeFi bull run.

And finally, the age-old question: What is going to bring people back into crypto? Will 2023 be the year investors get interested in the space once more, or will we have to wait until 2024 for any sort of real action in the space? 

Make sure to stay tuned until the end to get all of these insights and more. Cointelegraph wil also be taking your questions and comments throughout the show, so be sure to have them ready to go.

Market Talks streams live every Thursday at 12:00 pm ET (5:00 pm UTC). Each week, it features interviews with some of the most influential and inspiring people from the crypto and blockchain industry. So, be sure to head on over to Cointelegraph’s YouTube page, and smash those like and subscribe buttons for all our future videos and updates.