What are some of the trends in decentralized finance?

Over time, blockchain has been used in other applications: online games, meta-universes, social networking platforms, and even environmental projects.

CeDeFi

CeDeFi stands for Centralized Decentralized Finance. As the name suggests, CeDeFi combines centralized and decentralized applications. Many companies that previously provided only centralized services are increasingly creating hybrid ecosystems that include, among other things, decentralized or DeFi applications.

For example, many major crypto exchanges, such as Binance, OKX, and Bitget, have their own decentralized products: DEX exchanges, Web3 wallets, and even cross-chain bridges that allow the transfer of crypto assets between different blockchain networks.

Leading CeDeFi projects

1. Binance has become one of the leading crypto exchanges and an ecosystem in the CeDeFi market. The Binance team has gone so far as to release their blockchain network, BNB Chain, decentralized exchange Binance DEX, and Web3 wallet;
2. ByBit is one of the leading crypto exchanges on the market, launching its decentralized exchange, Web3 wallet, and NFT marketplace;
3. Nexo was originally a CeFi platform for lending in digital assets. However, as the DeFi marketplace evolved, the Nexo team also started releasing decentralized products based on DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization);
4. Unizen — a hybrid trading infrastructure that combines centralized and decentralized financial applications;
5. GRVT — a hybrid blockchain-based crypto derivatives trading exchange.

SocialFi

Social Finance (SocialFi) essentially combines social media and decentralized finance. The Social sphere is designed to give social media users different options to monetize their content without depending on centralized platforms like X, for example.

Blockchain enables the creation of decentralized social applications that allow the monetization of not only publications but also interactions between users: communication, likes, reposts, and so on.

Leading SocialFi-Projects

1. Mask Network — one of the first decentralized projects that were integrated into traditional social platforms such as Twitter (now X), Mirror, and Minds;
2. Friend.tech — a new social network based on the Base blockchain, positioning itself as a decentralized competitor to the X platform;
3. DeSo (Decentralized Social) — a "social" blockchain focused on supporting decentralized SocialFi applications;
4. CyberConnect — a decentralized protocol based on the Ethereum network with EVM support, created to simplify the development of social DeFi applications (DApps);
5. Farcaster is another decentralized social network that unites applications into a single ecosystem, allowing users to migrate their profiles easily.

GameFi

Game finance (GameFi) is a generic term for decentralized gaming protocols. It stands for "game finance" and includes both Web3 gaming applications and tokens used in online games.

GameFi projects use elements of decentralized finance (DeFi) in-game mechanics. Such models allow users to play and earn digital assets, including conventional tokens and NFTs while doing so.

According to CoinMarketCap estimates, GameFi's market capitalization is $12.17 billion as of March 2025.

Leading GameFi projects

1. Immutable — Ethereum's first Layer-2 or L2 scaling solution, built to support decentralized gaming platforms such as Gods Unchained, for example;
2. Gala — a Web3 gaming ecosystem with its own Layer-1 or L1 blockchain to run decentralized GameFi applications;
3. Decentraland is a decentralized virtual reality platform based on the Ethereum blockchain. The Decentraland platform belongs to both the GameFi and MetaFi segments;
4. Axie Infinity is a popular blockchain game inspired by the Pokemon and Tamagotchi universes and powered by the Ronin blockchain platform;
5. Ronin is a blockchain network focused on supporting decentralized GameFi applications that survived one of the largest hacks in the crypto industry.

MetaFi

MetaFi stands for Metaverse Finance and describes a set of decentralized projects focused on the realm of Metaverse. In doing so, MetaFi aims to tokenize any virtual assets such as avatars, digital real estate, or valuable artifacts, opening up new opportunities for Metaverse users to monetize.

In a way, MetaFi is a combination of DeFi and GameFi, but what makes it different is that Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are key to Metaverse Finance. According to CoinMarketCap data for March 2025, the MetaFi market size reaches nearly $10 billion.

Leading MetaFi projects

1. Render is a decentralized platform on the Ethereum blockchain that exchanges computing power for graphics processing units (GPUs). It has its token RNDR, which is among the top 50 cryptocurrencies on the market;
2. Stacks — a second-level network designed to scale the Bitcoin blockchain;
3. The Sandbox — a decentralized MetaFi-platform with its meta-universe where users can buy, own, and sell virtual land plots;
4. Floki — initially a common meme token, which over time acquired its own MetaFi-ecosystem with NFT marketplace and decentralized tokenization platform;
5. NextEarth is a virtual platform based on the Polygon blockchain that trades digital land corresponding to real map plots.

InfoFi

Info Finance (or InfoFi) has become a new concept in the DeFi market, focused on creating new ways of working with data. InfoFi platforms utilize technologies that combine blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI).

The InfoFi market is still in its infancy, and the concept itself was introduced by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin only in 2024, but it is already actively gaining momentum.

One of the first projects on the InfoFi market was Kaito, a decentralized platform based on artificial intelligence. The Kaito platform provides users with decentralized AI tools for deep analysis of the financial market, taking into account social activity and media data collected from many different sources.

ReFi

Regenerative Finance (ReFi) is a concept that aims to support decentralized projects created with current ESG initiatives for environmental protection in mind.

ReFi projects utilize blockchain to provide transparency and bring users and companies together in a collaborative effort to fight for a better environment.

According to CoinGecko's March 2025 data, the ReFi market capitalization is $119 million, but this figure has grown by over a quarter in the last year alone.

Leading ReFi projects

1. Celo — a blockchain platform supporting cost-effective, lightweight nodes (nodes) that connect mobile devices into a single decentralized network;
2. Energy Web — a blockchain network compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, designed to support enterprise decentralized applications in the energy sector;
3. DOVU — a blockchain project created to develop a transparent market for carbon credits and focused on reducing carbon emissions;
4. Regen is a blockchain platform that creates programs supporting the transition to regenerative agriculture and environmental improvement.