Decentralised Finance, or DeFi, is taking the world by storm, and seems to be among the fastest growing fintech segments. Kimberly Adams, of Bridge Network, helps us to better understand: what DeFi is and ways in which it can be leveraged; the impact DeFi could have on the Caribbean region; and at the same time, how ready the Caribbean region is for DeFI.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Amazon Music (NEW!) and on Stitcher!

Two recurring themes in many of our podcast episodes this year, which also seems to be a growing trend, is democratisation and decentralisation – across a broad range of systems.  In many instances, control of systems, processes, platforms and applications is shifting away from a central unit or hub, and increasingly, the decisions and transactions are being effected directly between end-users, without need for an intermediary, or a third party to approve transactions.

Blockchain technology is one of the key drivers of the democratisation and decentralisation trend, and as such is evident in areas such as cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralised finance.

Decentralised Finance, or DeFi, is an emerging digital financial infrastructure, which – at least in theory – eliminates the need for an intermediary, such as banks, central bank, brokerage firms for financial exchanges to approve financial transactions. DeFi platforms facilitate peer-to-peer transactions, including but not limited to: the lending or borrowing funds, trading cryptocurrencies; insuring against risks; earning interest in savings-like accounts; and speculating on price movements on assets using derivatives. According to Bloomberg, and as of October 2021, the value of assets used in decentralized finance amounted to USD 100 billion.

In this podcast episode, we will be discussing DeFi generally, and will be highlighting Bridge Network, a Barbados-based business, that seeks to be a decentralized cross-chain hub for the DeFi ecosystem.

 

Introducing our guest

Kimberly Adams

Kimberly Adams is the Co-Founder of Bridge Network, a cross-chain super decentralised application (dApp) protocol focused on building tools for cross-chain transactions. With over seven years in crypto growth strategy and product development, Kimberly has successfully taken crypto exchange Smart Valor to profit, and has worked alongside the innovators behind the concept of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) at bitt.com.

Kimberly is mostly known for her work at DigitalBits Foundation, a layer 1 focused on branded currencies, in which she restructured the organisation and contributed to the tremendous growth in her short time there. Kimberly exited DigitalBits Foundation to build Bridge Network, and has since deployed three cross-chain tools, which amassed more than 300,000 transactions less than two weeks of launching.

 

 

Insights into our conversation

DeFi is a really exciting segment of the fintech space, and it appears to have considerable potential for the Caribbean region – for individual users, entrepreneurs and start-ups, and even more seasoned businesses. However, and as Kimberly highlighted during our discussion, the region has not yet begun to have the conversations needed in order to establish the requisite policies and structures that could allow DeFi to thrive.

Clearly, there is still a lot of scepticism and concern around blockchain technology, which to a considerable degree, has its source among policymakers and the traditional financial services sector. However, platforms and services that are leveraging blockchain tend to offer greater transparency and accountability for similar services provided by traditional banks and financial institutions, which in turn is driving the considerable growth that is being experience in the fintech space.

Below is a list of key questions posed to Kimberly during our conversation:

  1. So, to start us off, what is decentralised finance, and how does it work?
  2. Tell about your entrepreneurial journey, and how you arrived at Bridge Network?
  3. Talk to us about Bridge Network. When was it established, and what is the problem it is trying to solve?
  4. What are the products or services Bridge Network is bringing to market?
  5. How is DeFi useful in borrowing and lending?
  6. From the Caribbean context, what impact could DeFi have?
  7. What are some of the challenges or disadvantages of DeFi?
  8. How ready is the Caribbean region for DeFI?

 

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Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.
Let’s make it happen!

 

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  K Adams;  Monito – Money Transfer Comparison (flickr); Marco Verch Professional Photgrapher (flickr); Austin Distel (Unsplash); Gerd Altmann (Pixabay)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez