The Ethereum Foundation outlines its strategic commitment to decentralized finance (DeFi), articulating a vision of permissionless, censorship-resistant, privacy-first, and self-custodial financial systems. Two dedicated DeFi leads—Charles St. Louis and ivangbi—are introduced as heading the EF's DeFi efforts within the App Relations team. Key focus areas for 2026 include builder relationships, security improvements, decentralization, privacy as base infrastructure, standards and risk clarity, and research. The post also highlights emerging areas of interest such as DeFi × AI, institutional adoption, stablecoins, and novel financial primitives.
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