In recent years, crypto enthusiasts have shown increased interest in the decentralized finance (DeFi) market, attracting investors from all over the world. DeFi, in its most basic form, refers to financial apps built on blockchain technology to democratize the economy by displacing centralized institutions. 

The most prominent DeFi platforms have created their native tokens to help them run their businesses and incentivize their users. If you want to gain a piece of this unique marketplace early, one of the greatest ways to do so is to invest in DeFi coins.

At Cryptoknowmics, we examine some of the best DeFi coins on the market and investigate their roles within their respective DeFi ecosystems. 

Top 10 DeFi Tokens For 2021

The list of DeFi coins is constantly growing as a result of their rising popularity and the emergence of new DeFi platforms. At the time of writing, the total market cap of the DeFi industry exceeds $63.08 billion. This is enormous, especially given how new the DeFi phenomenon is.

Here is a list of the top 10 DeFi coins that have helped to fuel the growth of this decentralized marketplace.

• InsurAce (INSUR)

InsurAce is a decentralized protocol aimed at providing dependable insurance services. The protocol provides flexible and dependable coverage for decentralized finance (DeFi) assets. Users are said to benefit from low insurance premiums, a high return on investment, cross-chain coverage, and wallet availability. The token is currently trading at $1.08 and with a global market cap of $12 million, at the time of writing. 

The fundamental aim of InsurAce is to protect people by providing easy access to products and investment efficiency. The major benefits of InsurAce, according to the developers, are “zero” premium, liquidity mining, and long-term returns.

The technique assesses risks to make loss management easier. InsurAce intends to create a product line that will support a variety of DeFi protocols. Insurers have access to a diverse asset pool while also lowering coverage rates. Therefore, look out for this token if you want profitable investments in the coming months. 

ApeSwap is a Binance Smart Chain Automated Market Maker, Yield Farming, and Staking platform (forked from PancakeSwap). ApeSwap was created by DeFi Apes and is only available to them for now. They have a dedicated team of experienced developers who have been working in the cryptocurrency space for years. The platform’s native currency is $BANANA, and it allows you to stake, pool, and earn $BANANA. 

It is one of the best alternatives to PancakeSwap and is one of the leading DEX for BSC. The token is currently trading at $1.50. If you’re wondering where to buy ApeSwap Finance, the top exchanges for trading it right now are Bitrue, OpenOcean, and BakerySwap. 

• Telos (TLOS)

Telos is a third-generation blockchain platform that enables the development of fast, scalable distributed applications with feeless transactions. Since its mainnet launch in December 2018, the Telos network has been built to power future economies and provide human-scale solutions to global challenges. To achieve these objectives, it includes innovative governance features that enable organizations to shift influence and decision-making to a more collaborative and transparent model.

The token is currently trading at $0.16, with a market cap of $43 million. The upcoming Telos EVM (currently on testnet) will be the most performant and cost-effective Ethereum Virtual Machine on the market. Telos will be the only blockchain to support the two leading standards for smart contract development, EVM and EOSIO, when it launches. Together, these two technologies account for the vast majority of the top DApps on popular tracking websites such as dapp radar. 

Telos is also considered as the first ESG blockchain and has an estimated energy consumption that is lower than any of its competitors. Additionally, based on detailed reports from all network validators, the community is currently auditing its energy consumption and CO2 production.

• Uniswap (UNI)

Uniswap is a leading decentralized exchange that dominates the DeFi market at the moment. It uses an Automated Market Maker system (AMM) to ensure that the ERC20 tokens sold on its platform have enough liquidity. Because of its crypto-asset solutions, the Uniswap protocol has a devoted following. It gives you complete control over your private keys, allows you to trade with cheap costs, and interacts with external wallets.

The Uniswap protocol created the UNI coin in September 2020 as a way to reward its USERS. The token is currently trading at $17.89, with a market cap of $10 billion. With a gain of more than 1,100% in just eight months, the DeFi currency is perhaps one of the best-performing tokens in the business.

• Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink is perhaps the most extensively used decentralized oracle network on the DeFi market right now. It connects real-world data to smart contracts on the blockchain, acting as a conduit for the massive volume of data being exchanged across crypto DApps. The supplier has also launched its native token, LINK, which offers several platform-specific functions. The token has a market cap of $8 billion and a price of $18.75. 

Chainlink has seen substantial growth since its introduction in 2019, because of the growing popularity of decentralized platforms. It has progressed to the point where it can now sponsor additional crypto projects that will benefit the Chainlink ecosystem. 

• Terra (LUNA)

Terra is a project that aims to create stable coins for DeFi and digital payments. Terra’s stablecoin prices are stabilized by the cryptocurrency LUNA. The protocol tries to address the issue of cryptocurrency volatility, which renders it unsuitable for payments. Low costs, rapid payments, and smooth cross-border transfers are all features of Terra’s stablecoins.

The LUNA token holds a price of $6.07, with a market cap of $2 billion. Terra claims that its usage of fiat-pegged stablecoins distinguishes it from the competition by combining the borderless benefits of cryptocurrencies with the day-to-day price stability of fiat currency. It maintains its one-to-one peg thanks to an algorithm that adjusts stablecoin supply in response to demand. 

• Aave (AAVE)

Aave is a decentralized financial system that enables users to lend and borrow cryptocurrency. Depositing digital assets into specially designed liquidity pools earns lenders’ interest. Borrowers can then use this liquidity to take out a quick loan using their bitcoin as collateral. The token holds a market cap of $2 billion and a trading price of $228.49. 

When compared to competitors in an increasingly saturated sector, Aave has several distinct selling features. It was one of the largest projects in terms of the total worth of crypto locked in its protocol during the DeFi mania in the summer of 2020. Therefore, it will be a profitable investment in months to come. 

• Maker (MKR)

Maker’s MKR is the governance token of MakerDAO, a decentralized organization, and lending platform. The Maker Protocol uses smart contracts called Maker Vaults to create DAI, a USD-backed stablecoin. These smart contracts are made possible by apps like Oasis Borrow, which allows users to use their digital assets as collateral to produce DAI. MakerDAO and the Maker Protocol are based on Ethereum.

Holders of MKR tokens have voting rights but do not earn dividends. The holder has the right to vote on several changes to the Maker Protocol, with the size of their MKR stake determining their voting power. The price of the token is $2319 and holds a market cap of $2 billion. 

• PancakeSwap (SWAP)

PancakeSwap is a Binance Smart Chain-based Automated Market Maker Decentralized Exchange that does not require KYC. Binance provided funds for the initiative as part of its DeFi acceleration program on the Binance Smart Chain. SWAP is trading at $13.27, with a market cap of $2 billion. 

Users can receive incentives by staking their tokens, which is done by depositing and locking Liquidity Provider tokens. This is referred to as farming, and it is rewarded with CAKE tokens by the system. With no holding time, the tokens can be un-staked. CAKE allows customers to invest in the future and increase their earnings, but it comes with dangers.

• Polkastarter (POLS)

Polkastarter is a cross-chain pool and auction protocol that allows projects to raise funds in a Polkadot-based environment. The POLS token is currently trading at $1.01, with a market cap of $71 million. 

The capacity to make both fixed swap pools and cross-chain swaps through the Polkadot ecosystem is the most crucial thing to know about what makes Polkastarter promising. While keeping a connection with the Ethereum Network and other blockchains to keep liquidity flowing, resulting in higher throughput and cheaper transactions. 

The platform can handle a variety of auction formats, such as sealed-bid and dutch auctions, as well as fixed and dynamic ratio swaps. This makes it perfect for cryptocurrency projects seeking funding, as well as a range of other use cases such as private trades, over-the-counter deals, and reduced sales.

Conclusion

The crypto market is indeed witnessing some serious corrections these days. However, it is only a matter of time before the bulls hit the market again. Therefore, it is time that you put your money in the right place now. Without a doubt, the growing popularity of DeFi coins shows that the DeFi sector as a whole is on its approach to becoming a mainstream financial industry.