Altcoins are at the forefront of innovating and changing the feature set of DeFi-that is, further automating the way traditional financial services operate, such as lending, borrowing, and trading in a completely intermediary-less manner. Foremost among these is Ethereum, the first programmable blockchain, which enabled the development of smart contracts that underpin most DeFi applications. Ethereum has a great dApp ecosystem developed over time, making the blockchain a staple in DeFi. However, high gas fees have indeed pushed developers onto other competitors.
Solana brings a high-performance ecosystem to handle up to thousands of transactions per second with low fees, hence becoming attractive for all DeFi projects in need of scalability. Further enhancing transaction speed on Solana is its efficient Proof of History consensus, hence allowing applications such as Serum-a decentralized exchange, or DEX for short-to become highly effective thanks to Solana's speed and cost efficiency.
With its strict, research-driven development ethos, Cardano is rapidly gaining traction in DeFi. In the wake of the recent release of smart contract functionality, Cardano could now supply a safe and sustainable platform for the work required in DeFi, attract projects valuing security and scalability.
Niche coins such as Avalanche and Polkadot are equally vital. At the heart of Avalanche is a consensus mechanism that supports fast finality and low fees, making the blockchain appealing to DeFi developers. Similarly, interoperability across different blockchains ensures that DeFi protocols could share information and assets cross-chain, a fundamental building within DeFi.
Each of these altcoins has its strengths that make the DeFi landscape interesting, innovative, and pushing more boundaries toward new financial services.
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~ Nesaty