Decentralized Finance. The buzzword that’s been reverberating through the hallways of crypto conferences and twitter threads for the last half decade. They claim it’s the way of the future. This last revolutionary movement that is so powerful it is temporarily prepared to overthrow old finance and install a new kind of economic liberties. Alexey Salashny, CEO of Super, sees a future where DeFi is the invisible infrastructure of tomorrow’s global economy. A bold claim. And one that is worth a big helping of salt.

The Emperor Has No Clothes Yet?

Quite frankly, we would all agree that the financial sector stands to benefit from some serious disruption. The 2008 crisis downplayed the fragility and inherent unfairness about that system. On one hand we let banks that were considered “too big to fail” receive taxpayer bailouts while everyday Americans lost their homes and savings. Anger? Absolutely. Awe? Not so much.

Naturally, DeFi, at first glance, seems to be the cure. No more gatekeeping, no more high price tags, no more clear as mud decision processes. An open, permissionless system that anyone in the world with an internet connection can access. Like many DeFi projects though, Super promises security, efficiency and scalability. They promise multi-layered audit and custodial-less asset management. Sounds great, right?

Hold on. Haven’t we been bamboozled by this song and dance before? Remember the dot-com boom? The utopian ideal of a new digital age radically transforming all we understood? Many fortunes were made… and lost. Pets.com rings a bell? The internet did revolutionize the world, but it didn't happen overnight, and it certainly wasn't without its share of spectacular failures. The same could happen with DeFi. The promise of invisible infrastructure. Future visions are always appealing, and we all know how those turned out.

Security: The Achilles Heel?

Security is paramount at Super, and as you can see, they’re laser-focused on supercharging security initiatives like audits and digital monitoring systems. DeFi is a hacker's paradise. As we have seen repeatedly with recently exploited smart contract vulnerabilities, not even the most thorough audits can promise a full measure of protection. Remember the DAO hack? Or the myriad of other rug pulls that have broken people's hearts in this space?

On one hand, the non-custodial nature of DeFi is incredibly empowering, on the other hand, it puts the onus back on the user. It’s on you to protect your private keys. Lose them, and your funds are gone. No bank to pick up the phone and call, no insurance provider to submit a claim to. Just an unforgiving lesson in individual accountability.

Now, picture your grandma trying to understand the DeFi world. Seed phrases, gas fees, impermanent loss... Anxiety inducing, isn't it?

And while Super's Security Watchdog system protecting against flash loan attacks is commendable, it's a constant arms race. Hackers are incredibly savvy and constantly developing new methods to exploit vulnerabilities, which is why DeFi protocols are always one step behind. Then most states are using a thimble full of duct tape to try to fix it.

This is the reality of DeFi today. Can DeFi actually scale and serve as the basis for a global, interconnected economy if it remains so easily compromised? I suspect not.

Regulation: The Uninvited Guest?

Alexey Salashny moved to the UK for its welcoming fintech regulatory environment. A smart move, perhaps. It’s going to be regulated, like it or not. Today, governments are starting to realize the promise of DeFi. They say they’re exasperated by a lack of oversight.

While the promise of DeFi is decentralization, regulation by its very nature creates centralization. Indeed, how do you regulate a system that is explicitly intended to be borderless and permissionless? It’s a square peg in a round hole approach to infrastructure.

Perhaps most interesting are the implications for legacy financial institutions. Banks are not about to watch DeFi walk off with their lunch. They’ll lobby governments, spread FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), and just about anything else to defend their turf.

The question is: can DeFi survive the regulatory onslaught? Or choked to death by red tape and bureaucracy? The answer, I would argue, is somewhere in that messy middle. The development of DeFi will probably be in the direction of working alongside conventional finance, instead of completely overriding it. Perhaps Super’s SuperChain, scheduled for 2026, with its quantum resistant capabilities and 8k+ TPS can solve all of these problems. 2026 is still three years away in the rapidly evolving world of crypto.

The promise of DeFi is alluring. The promise of a more inclusive, transparent, and efficient financial system. It's not a magic bullet. It’s a disruptive, rapidly changing technology with major hurdles ahead. Before we anoint DeFi the king of the new global economy, we need to pause. While this victory is real and powerful, it’s important to recognize the deep and meaningful work that still awaits us.