An exploratory study of DeFi protocols

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates the security, fairness and economic implications of Decentralised Finance (DeFi) within the Ethereum ecosystem. While DeFi has experienced rapid growth, there remains several systemic risks and vulnerabilities that can affect hugely. The study focuses on three key aspects: (1) Transaction Semantics (Analysing how core actions in DeFi are executed on EVM and recorded in transaction receipts and logs), (2) Vulnerability Analysis (Identifying recurring patterns of anomalies), and (3) Detection Framework (Evaluating the effectiveness and potential scale of DeepTx, a real-time analysis tool to detect threats in transactions). By conducting the report based on leading protocols in Ethereum such as Uniswap, Aave and Compound, the study bridges the gap between transaction data and security insights. It will therefore provide a foundation for policymakers to create frameworks for how bugs and risks can affect the DeFi ecosystem, serving as a guide for a secure and scalable Web3 industry.