The DeFi Collective, or “the Ants” as we like to refer to ourselves, is a non-profit association, incorporated under the laws of Switzerland. Just as ants work together seamlessly to build their colonies, the DeFi Collective’s purpose is to collaborate in globally supporting and promoting the advancement of decentralized finance (DeFi) technology and projects.

The DeFi Collective is an independent legal entity. It consists of the members and the board of directors. The DeFi Collective has no equity and no shareholders. While the board is responsible for the operational activities, the DeFi Collective is ultimately driven by its members who can elect and dismiss the board, review financial statements, pass resolutions, etc. Our Articles of Association are publicly available here .

Vision

A well-functioning financial system has provided the backbone of economies and societies for thousands of years. We envision a future where key financial infrastructure is delivered through secure, reliable, and efficient decentralized financial services protocols (DeFi). Citizens globally gain access to a public financial infrastructure providing inclusive financing and investment opportunities.

Mission

We harness all relevant on-chain and off-chain resources to foster a supportive environment where DeFi protocols can emerge as a trusted alternative to traditional financial services providers. For this purpose, we engage in the following activities:

Research: The decentralization of public infrastructure is an active field of research, and understanding the drivers of security, reliability, and efficiency is crucial to our mission. We conduct and support research that furthers the understanding of this field.

Self-Policing: The trust in any critical infrastructure builds on existing quality criteria and the adherence of infrastructure providers to these. We support developing and promoting an adequate self-policing framework that fosters decentralization and trust in DeFi protocols.

Education: Furthering the public understanding of the benefits and risks of decentralized infrastructure and DeFi protocols, particularly, is vital to building trust in this new technology. We use social media and other communication channels to create awareness towards this goal.

Governance: The value and adoption of DeFi protocols significantly depend on their ability to integrate with the broader (decentralized) financial industry. We use our reputation and governance power to advocate for and support the expansion of DeFi protocols.

Liquidity: Bootstrapping liquidity for a DeFi protocol is challenging and costly - especially for public infrastructure projects with limited resources. We support DeFi protocols to overcome this challenge with our network, expertise, and assets.

Board

The Board of the DeFi Collective comprises of individuals with a broad range of knowledge and a strong network in the DeFi ecosystem. The board is elected by the members of the association every year.