In Issue #36 of Monetary Mechanics, I introduced the idea that blockchain-based finance (i.e. decentralized finance a.k.a. DeFi) is a fundamental improvement in the accounting of economic transactions that facilitates the expression of a whole series of novel financial functions. This expansion in financial functions will undoubtedly be commensurate with the historic explosions in the volume and variety of economic activity that are associated with the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the post-WWII economic boom.
Parallel markets intensified recently with the COVID-19 pandemic through its initial impact on commodity prices and more lasting supply chain disruptions for critical goods and services.