Decentralised Finance (DeFi)

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Decentralised Finance (DeFi) or Open Finance is a global, open alternative to every financial service you use today — savings, loans, trading, insurance and more — accessible to anyone in the world with a smartphone and internet connection, DeFi is enabled by blockchain and uses cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to empower peer-to-peer transactions.

DeFi offers an alternative to traditional centralised finance services. They allow a larger number of participants to join in financial transactions as well as providing greater transparency via blockchain tracking and lower costs through the reduction of fees compared to those charged by traditional banks and financial service institutions.​​

The DeFi infrastructure is established and growing; banks already recognise the need to integrate with and offer services via the platform; fund managers see the valuable diversification benefits from crypto assets; wealth managers need to give their clients access to and advice on crypto; payments and trade finance is already moving to the blockchain. In all areas, finance education in DeFi is vital for the future of your business.

Overall value of crypto assets is expressed as Total Value Locked (TVL). This is a measure of the total value of all assets locked in DeFi protocols. This number steadily grew to reach a peak of around $180bn in Dec 2021 (according to DeFiLlama a trusted TVL aggregator). During the early part of 2022 this value fell steeply in line with the steep drop in crypto asset values, but since the start of 2023 has topped $50bn and is up almost 20% .

Some of the challenges our clients are seeking solutions to are:

  • Lack of knowledge and clarity on how DeFi is going to affect the future of financial services
  • No clarity on the difference between decentralised and centralised providers in crypto intermediation
  • Market education and differentiating DeFi and its dis-association with some catastrophic incidents which involved centralised crypto providers
In response to evolving demand from our corporate clients, we have designed a range of DeFi Learning programmes, brought to you in partnership with XD Academy, covering an introduction to DeFi and crypto assets, crypto market structure, crypto trading, crypto risks, crypto regulation, and crypto evolution – further information can be viewed below.

Contact us to discuss your corporate DeFi learning requirements.

Check out our latest blog post about DeFi.

Learning Pathway

The learning pathway consists of 6 modules and is suitable for anyone new to DeFi and wish to understand the rapidly evolving landscape associated with decentralised finance.​

Module 1: Crypto Assets​

Module 2: Crypto Market Structure​

Module 3: Crypto Trading​

Module 4: Crypto Risks​

Module 5: Crypto Regulation​

Module 6: Crypto Evolution

Module 1: Crypto Assets

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand the different types of blockchain based coins, tokens, cryptocurrencies and assets

SYNOPSIS

This session will introduce the various types of blockchain based and crypto assets

  • Stablecoins
  • Coins / Tokens
  • NFTs
  • CBDCs
  • Metaverse Assets

DURATION

90 Minutes (Virtual)

Module 2: Crypto Market Structure

LEARNING OBJECTIVES​

Understand the fundamentals of the decentralised financial markets, and who the key players and participants are.​

SYNOPSIS​

This session will cover an introduction to the crypto market, including:​

  • Participants​
  • Infrastructure​
  • Connections​
  • Venues​
  • Intermediation​

DURATION​

90 Minutes (Virtual)

Module 3: Crypto Trading

LEARNING OBJECTIVES​

Understand the fundamentals of how crypto and digital asset trading work;​

Understand the different options for executing crypto trades including DeFi, CeFi and others

SYNOPSIS​

This session will cover an introduction to the crypto market, including:​

  • Platforms​
  • Liquidity pools​
  • Arbitrage​
  • Market makers​
  • Lending​
  • Derivatives​
  • Crypto ETFs​

DURATION​

90 Minutes (Virtual)

Module 4: Crypto Risks

LEARNING OBJECTIVES​

Understand the risks associated with crypto and DeFi

Understand approaches to lessen these risks when trading and investing in DeFi

SYNOPSIS​

This session will introduce the types of risk that are inherent in the DeFi and crypto space,​

  • Security​
  • Fraud​
  • Impermanent loss​

DURATION​

90 Minutes (Virtual)

Module 5: Crypto Regulation

LEARNING OBJECTIVES​

Understand the regulatory framework associated with crypto and DeFi

Understand how to navigate the rapidly evolving space of crypto regulation​

SYNOPSIS​

This session will introduce the types of regulation associated with the DeFi and crypto space, including:​

  • Tax​
  • Registration​
  • Licensing​

DURATION​

90 Minutes (Virtual)

Module 6: Crypto Evolution

LEARNING OBJECTIVES​

Understand the constantly evolving landscape associated with crypto and DeFi

SYNOPSIS​

This session will introduce the rapid developments and evolution of the the DeFi and crypto space, including:​

  • Decentralised finance developments​
  • Financial inclusion​

DURATION​

90 Minutes (Virtual)

100%

of our clients would recommend Alpha to a colleague or peer

90%

of a cohort was promoted within 2 years after participating in an Alpha course.

96%

of participants felt more confident in their role, following an Alpha commercial leadership course.

The team are so friendly and pleasant to work with, everyone is very professional and keen to help us. Building a relationship over the past couple of years helps us to feel like the Alpha team are even more able to understand our needs and provide more proactive solutions.

Why study with Alpha?

Innovation and creativity born from experience

We are thought leaders in instructional and learning journey design and holistic solution architects. We have extensive finance and investments experience combined with skills application to deliver performance improving results. We develop immersive learning environments that maximize time to productivity, support talent retention and added value to improving quality of hires.

Knowledge Exchange Evangelists

We are focused on mining the embedded organisational intellectual capital for the benefit of the next generation. We create and curate best in class practice gathered from our experience with the leading financial institutions. We design our programmes with the end in mind – what results are you trying to achieve with this intervention? What metrics will we set ourselves to achieve that?

Generation Proof

Quality and innovation, using current market and industry best practices, have made us a trusted partner in delivering dynamic and motivating training for the financial and capital markets. Our programmes are generation proof and responsive to evolving learner needs and styles. Our solutions use a multi-stakeholder engagement strategy that expands beyond relationships between the learner and learning provider. We create connections with managers, peers and the wider business to drive impactful return on investment..

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The team are so friendly and pleasant to work with, everyone is very professional and keen to help us. Building a relationship over the past couple of years helps us to feel like the Alpha team are even more able to understand our needs and provide more proactive solutions.
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