Best DeFi Tools To Get Started With Decentralized Finance

June 30, 2022

Sifting through the crazy world of DeFi will be much easier with a proper set of DeFi tools which is precisely the reason why we decided to compile this list of the top DeFi tools to supercharge your journey through the wild west of DeFi.

Decentralized Finance (or DeFi) is a new financial system where value is stored and transferred directly between participants without relying on intermediaries or centralized authorities. This means no banks, no fees, and no middlemen.

The term was coined in 2016 by Joseph Poon, who is now the CEO of Compound, a leading DeFi protocol. In 2017, he launched MakerDAO, the first DeFi project. Since then, DeFi has grown rapidly, becoming a major force in the global fintech landscape.

Today, DeFi protocols are being built across multiple verticals, from lending to insurance. These protocols allow anyone to create their own custom asset backed stablecoin, issue loans against them, and even trade these assets freely.

THE BEST DEFI TOOLS TO RESEARCH, TRACK, AND ANALYSE YOUR CRYPTO ACTIVITIES

WALLETS

METAMASK

Metamask is a leading crypto hot wallet that allows users to store tokens of various blockchains. It also allows you to connect to multiple decentralised applications to engage in DeFi activities. As a non-custodial wallet, your assets are entirely under your control. At wallet creation, you get a seed phrase, which is your entry ticket to your wallet if you ever lose your device.

COINBASE WALLET

Coinbase wallet is a decentralised wallet owned by Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. Even though Coinbase is a centralised exchange, the Coinbase wallet is decentralised and offers the same perks as most hot wallets in the crypto scene. It has high security and also has integration with notable hardware wallets. In addition, you can also store Non-fungible tokens in the wallet.

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TRUST WALLET

Trust Wallet is considered a competitor to Metamask. It is a hot wallet that allows its user to store crypto assets of various Blockchains comfortably in a non-custodial manner. Purchased by Binance in 2018, they presently have more than five million users worldwide. You can download it freely on the app stores and store thousands of tokens at no charge.

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ARGENT

Argent is a non-custodial Ethereum wallet created in 2018 that claims to make the DeFi world more accessible to both newbies and old-timers in the crypto world. Instead of seed phrases that are long and may be challenging to keep up with, Argent uses Argent Guardians, which may include individuals, devices, and Argent’s Guard Service to secure your assets and restore them in cases of loss.

RABBY

Rabby is an open-source multi-chain wallet created by the Debank team in July 2021. The main aim of the wallet is to ensure a smooth transition when interacting with another blockchain during transactions. In addition, for the security of their users, they’ve made a pre-transaction scanning tool on the wallet to look out for potential threats to a transaction before authorising it.

Also, you will get an overview containing your existing balance, the Token you are sending or swapping, and the chain you are interacting with for the transaction. You can download this app on the App Store and Google play store.

MATH WALLET

Math Wallet is a multiplatform wallet accessible on mobile phones, desktops, extensions and hardware. It supports over 103 blockchains with hundreds of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polka Dot etc.

The wallet contains a dApp store that allows you to store, transfer and receive cryptocurrencies across multiple chains quickly. You can also monitor your assets and keep an eye on your earnings. The wallet uses 2-factor authentication for additional security aside from the mnemonic phrase, which will make it hard to breach its security.

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ALPHAWALLET

AlphaWallet is a non-custodial wallet on the Ethereum blockchain built to customise and monitor assets. The wallet is user-friendly and very secure as it uses Biometric and pin codes for security. It’s compatible with all Ethereum based networks and tokens, including ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-785, e.t.c. Aside from monitoring assets, it’s one of the first wallets to support the tokenisation framework. AlphaWallet is available for download on the Google play store and App store.

XDEFI WALLET

XDeFi is a multichain wallet with an inbuilt Dex/bridge Aggregator. The wallet supports several cryptocurrencies, including NFTs but is compatible with only 11 blockchains. You can swap, buy or sell different cryptocurrencies across these chains on the wallet. In addition, there is an opportunity to let your crypto work for you through staking on the wallet. Founded by David Phan and Emile Dubie in 2020, their headquarters are in London, United Kingdom.

RESEARCH, TRACK AND ANALYSE DEFI ECOSYSTEM

DEBANK

Debank is a decentralised multichain portfolio tracker designed to manage DeFi assets. With Debank, you can monitor all your cryptocurrencies on several Blockchains, search for DeFi projects, compare interest rates, tracking of DeFi applications, and analyse investment risk; all these are just a few functions this wallet performs to make managing and investing in DeFi easy. This wallet is available for download on the Google play store and App store, and it’s also compatible with Android and Ios devices.

APY.VISION

APY.Vision is a tool that manages liquidity pools and tracks the risk of impermanent loss for profit calculation and data, which will help to decide whether to exit a pool or to invest in one. APY.Vision is straightforward to use and accessible to all. It is compatible with about 23 exchanges, including Pangolin, Uniswap, Kyberswap, e.t.c. Some features are available to subscribed users only. However, the majority of the functions are free to use.

DEFIYIELD

DeFiyield is an all in one tool that helps traders to make well-informed decisions about investing and managing their assets. Aside from that, you can track your portfolio with an overview of all your Hodl coins, staked assets and liquidity pools that contain your assets. The app is simple to understand and access with its Dashboard feature that displays on the homepage your existing balances and staked assets.

DEFI LLAMA

Defi Llama is a decentralised TVL(total value locked) aggregator whose main feature is to provide accurate data and track DeFi protocol from several blockchains. The platform’s data is open source and maintained by a trained team of passionate developers and contributors from different protocols. The app tracks assets on over 800 DeFi protocols and is compatible with over 80 Blockchains, including Terra, Avalanche, Solana, e.t.c.

DAPPRADAR

DappRadar is an app that tracks over 45 DeFi protocols, swap, buy and sell cryptocurrencies, including NFTs. With this app, you can discover trending dApps, the trading volume of an asset and top NFT collections. In addition, you can list NFTs for sale at a good value. Also, with DappRadar, you can stay up to date with the performance of all your assets and monitor your transaction history all in one place.

DUNE ANALYTICS

Dune is a blockchain research tool that breaks down complex computer commands on blockchains into human-readable data using SQL (Standard Query Language). With this tool, you will be able to do well-informed research that provides a profitable yield. Dune breaks down data into a readable form using three features: query, visualisation, and dashboards. These functions monitor, track and analyse data for easy access and understanding.

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1INCH

1inch is an all in one decentralised platform that optimises trade and analyses thousands of quotes and fees across multiple decentralised exchanges. Sourcing Liquidity from different exchanges to 1inch ensures its users get the best trading and swapping rate. At present, the platform is compatible with cryptocurrency on about 8 networks, which are: Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Gnosis Chain, and Fantom.

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INSTADAPP

Instadapp is a platform that helps users and developers to tap into the full potential of DeFi by acting as the middleware that aggregates multiple DeFi protocols into one Smart Contract Layer that’s available for upgrade. SowMay Jain co-founded Instadapp and serves as CEO of the platform. Instadapp also has a feature called Instadapp lite, which allows all DeFi users to access the simplest method to earn on DeFi by depositing assets into the Instadapp strategy vault.

MULTIPURPOSE DEFI TOOLS

ZERION

Zerion is a decentralised platform that builds and manages cryptocurrency assets in the DeFi space. It’s an all in one app with which you can track your portfolio, view the entire DeFi Market, Trade and swap cryptocurrencies, including NFTs. Another unique feature of Zerion is you can tap into the metaverse and benefit from an accurate fiat conversion rate leading to comprehensive investing performance.

ZAPPER

Zapper is a decentralised platform co-founded by Audet and Suhail Gangji in the early part of 2020 that provides accurate data regarding DeFi ranging from Liquidity pools, AMMs and complex DeFi protocols in one place. Its Application programming interface is also compatible with bridging different networks. The platform supports about 11 networks, including Moonriver, Arbitrum, Celo, e.t.c.

MONOLITH

Monolith is an all in one decentralised app created on the Ethereum blockchain, founded by David Hoggard and Mel Gelderman in 2017. You can go bankless using the monolith visa card, which allows users to spend crypto tokens in fiat for transactions, anytime, any day, anywhere. You can also purchase cryptocurrencies using the swap feature on the app. However, only Ethereum and DAI are available for purchase directly using Visa or Debit cards.

RUG DOC

Rugdoc is a decentralised platform with an Automated Market Maker system that performs a multipurpose task of trading cryptocurrencies, including NFTs, swapping, Yield Farming, Play to Earn games, OHM And Tomb forks. In terms of security Rugdoc uses a unique KYC system to protect its users from fraud. Their KYC (know your customer) process is in three steps

Each user will have to fill in their details and project into the Instadapp web form.
A secure and fast ID verification function on the platform confirms the personal and project details.
Upload Id document for final verification.

BLOXY

Bitquery is a blockchain analytic research tool created by Bloxy LLC, founded by Aleksey Studnev and Dean Karakitsos on January 4 2018. Its headquarter base is in Newyork City in the United States of America. The tool extracts data from the blockchain nodes and processes it into human-readable data through information retrieval, data mining and graph analysis.

CHAIN BEAT

ChainBeat breaks down data and processes it into readable forms with visuals like graphs and charts. It provides insight into smart contract data to aid well-researched decisions by crypto investors and traders. In addition, these tool have other functions like Market pricing, Alerts, exports, and Report studio. The platform supports Blockchains like Ethereum, xDai, RSK, and POA. in addition, some well known DeFi platforms like DeFiprime and Money On Chain have testified to the uniqueness of Chainbeat.

CONCLUSION

With what we have discussed so far, you are acquainted with the various tools used for analysis in the DeFi world. You know which devices can store your tokens and which ones can track and analyse your various investments. You have also seen multi-purpose tools, giving you an all-in-one value for your assets.

FAQS

WHY USE DEFI TOOLS❓

It is vital to use DeFi tools because, without them, you won’t be able to track the progress of your cryptocurrency assets. Some data are complex and can’t be broken down unless using Analytic DeFi tools like Bloxy or Dune Analytics. Finally, it won’t be easy to manage your assets as they will be scattered all around without a DeFi tool to arrange them in their proper place.

WHAT ARE THE BEST DEFI TOOLS❓

Some DeFi tools like Dune Analytics, Coinbase wallet, Zerion, Zapper, Alphawallet, Rug Doc, Bloxy, Mathwallet, Dappradar, Apy. Vision, Trustwallet, Instadapp, MetaMask, 1inch, Monolith and XDeFi are all excellent.

WHAT IS YIELD FARMING❓

This involves depositing two crypto tokens into a liquidity pool and earning rewards in either of the assets deposited or in another cryptocurrency. It also consists in making available one’s assets to a lending protocol on platforms and earning interest on your borrowed cryptocurrencies. Several DeFi platforms practice Yield Farming, but some are 1inch, Aave, Curve, Sushiswap, and Uniswap.

HOW DO I LEARN DEFI❓

You can learn about DeFi from the internet, from well-researched articles and tutorial videos from Organisations like Udemy, Coursera e.t.c. In addition, there are YouTube channels like Chrisblec that teach people about DeFi through Inline videos on YouTube.

Finally, there are some DeFi platforms like DeFi pulse Analytics that break down the complexity of Decentralised Finance and how to benefit from it. You can also learn about DeFi from social media platforms like Reddit and Telegram.

HOW DO I TRACK MY DEFI TOKENS❓

You can track your DeFi assets with tools like Debank and DeFi Llama, whose primary functions are to track portfolios and manage assets across several blockchains. You can also make use of tools like APY.vision that helps traders to guard against impermanent loss in liquidity pools. Then there is Dappradar which helps traders stay up to date with asset performance and transaction history.

WHAT DOES DEFI LLAMA DO❓

It is a decentralised aggregator that provides accurate data and tracks DeFi assets across various blockchains. It tracks over 800 DeFi assets and supports over 80 blockchains. DeFi Llama delivers up-to-date information regarding DeFi projects and cryptocurrency. Presently the Total value locked on DeFi Llama amounts to 209.42 billion dollars.

IS COINBASE A DEFI PLATFORM❓

No, Coinbase, one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges that aid in buying, selling, and swapping cryptocurrencies, is a centralized platform founded on June 12 by Brian Armstrong, a former Airbnb engineer and Fred Erhsam. He is an American businessman and Investor. Currently, they have no specific headquarters but have a massive number of employees, close to 4000 workers, as of 2021.

HOW DO YOU MAKE MONEY WITH DEFI❓

There are several ways and methods to make money on DeFi platforms. Staking is one of them, it is the act of putting crypto assets to work by saving those assets in a DeFi platform earning interest on it. Yield farming is another way of earning passive income on DeFi platforms. It works by depositing two assets into a DeFi platform liquidity pool and making a reward in either of the assets deposited or in other cryptocurrencies.

HOW DO DEFI PROJECT MAKE MONEY❓

DeFi projects make money through trading fees generated on transactions made on their platforms by their users.

HOW DO I CREATE A DASHBOARD IN DEFI❓

A DeFi dashboard is an essential tool for traders and developers on Defi. It helps to organise, monitor and track the progress of cryptocurrency assets, including NFTs, all in one place.
In addition, they assist those with little or no programming skills to access and execute authorised activities on crypto assets. To create a DeFi dashboard, you need to follow a few steps, which are:
👉Create a Moralis server
👉Build a Decentralised application(dapp)
👉Connect the Dapp to the Moralis server
👉Create Moralis authentication
👉Query Moralis dashboard to provide access to all on-chain data
👉Add preferred UI for satisfactory and additional functionality.Create Moralis authentication

CAN DEFI BE TRACKED❓

Yes, you can track DeFi with tools like Dapprader, Zerion, Zapper, Debank, DeFi Llama, Monolith, Chainbeat and Bloxy(bitquery). You can access these tools on your mobile devices, either iOS or Android. In addition, some of them, like Zerion and Zapper, are available for download on the Google Play Store.