In the first quarter of 2021, Aave, Compound, and MakerDAO collectively owned more than $25 billion in user funds. In addition, the quarter set a new high for unpaid loans. Decentralized finance, or DeFi for short, is a catch-all word for blockchain-based protocols. Instead of getting a loan from a bank, you can get one from your peers through a DeFi network. Over $55 billion has now been "locked" in decentralised finance protocols.