DeFi - A Case for the Indian Economy: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Directions

Abstract

Decentralized Finance - DeFi - challenges the role of traditional financial intermediaries in providing financial services of loans, brokerage and banking. An evolutionary movement accessible to anyone with mobile and internet has grown from $4Bn to $104Bn in the last five years.DeFi is the intersection of FinTech (<i>Financial Technology</i>) and RegTech (<i>Regulatory Technology</i>). DeFi has the potential to reduce transaction costs and bring financial inclusivity to a larger level and create new opportunities in modernizing finance. As the regulations for cryptocurrencies are a bit murky in India, this paper aims to put forth a case of Decentralized finance through a standardized systematic literature review based on different tiers of micro, meso and macro levels. Through different sections of the paper, we introduce Decentralized Finance, compare it to the prevalent Centralized Financing and look forward to the challenges and opportunities in bringing DeFi to mainstream services in India.