Radix is taking a massive step into decentralized finance (DeFi) with the release of its first layer-one protocol made up of four different technologies.
In a white paper, Radix said it had released four technologies it believes can bring DeFi for mass adoption. These are Cerberus, a high-speed network consensus mechanism, Radix Engine, for building DeFi applications, Component Catalog, a library to help build DeFi, and Developer Royalties, a decentralized incentive program.
The company said that for DeFi to go mainstream, it needs low transaction costs, secure by design systems, scalable and composable applications and incentives that encourage developers to work on decentralized applications.
“Ultimately, Mainstream DeFi will happen when all of the barriers holding back DeFi today are removed, without compromising decentralization. It happens when developers are finally given the tools they need to build apps that can surpass the services offered by the traditional financial industry. It happens when users of those apps wonder why they ever put up with the old way. Mainstream DeFi will move far beyond $4 billion and begins to absorb the $111 trillion waiting to be deployed onto the public ledger. Mainstream DeFi is the future we built Radix for.”
Radix believes the four technologies that underpin it will solve much of the barriers facing DeFi’s moe into the mainstream.
The company said it’s Radix Engine is explicitly designed for “the creation of logic that defines predictable, correct results on-ledger in response to requests.” The engine is based on Finite State Machines. The Component Catalog builds on Radix Engine and offers an on-ledger hub for developers to build decentralized applications.
Cerberus is Radix’s consensus algorithm designed around “a unique pre-sharded ledger and uses a new consensus process called braiding.” Its incentives program, Developer Royalties, provides incentives on the protocol-level.
DeFi has been growing and recently surpassed the $6 billion mark, though some believe the total locked-in value in DeFi protocols may be overestimated. Many in the industry, including Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, say DeFi is the future but concedes more should be done to bring it to a more mainstream audience.