CRYPTOCURRENCY INDUSTRY AS A TREND OF INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND FINANCE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the cryptocurrency industry as a modern phenomenon that ensures the integration of innovative technologies and financial systems, as well as to the definition of its role in the transformation of the global financial environment. It is emphasized that with the development of the Internet, decentralized finance (DeFi) emerges - a system of financial services that operate without centralized intermediaries (banks, brokers or exchanges) and are based on blockchain technology. It is noted that DeFi and cryptocurrency are interrelated phenomena that form a new financial system based on blockchain technologies, the types of cryptocurrencies are considered. The advantages of decentralized finance over the traditional financial system are determined. The views of leading foreign specialists on the further prospects of the alternative financial system are formulated. According to experts, CeFi and DeFi will coexist, complement, and strengthen each other, taking into account their own experience, mistakes, and innovations, while maintaining a close relationship. It is noted that central bank digital currencies are a kind of hybrid of DeFi and CeFi, and since financial stability is a matter of national security, in the opinion of the authors, regulators represented by central banks will not yield these functions to decentralized finance. The advantages and disadvantages of central bank digital currencies are studied and it is concluded that as a result of the DeFi drift towards a centralized system under the pressure of regulation, which is only at the beginning of its formation, a merger will occur, or rather, the absorption of decentralized finance by centralized finance, the result of such a kind of synthesis may be central bank digital currencies. The conclusions state that the cryptocurrency industry is not only a trend, but also an important driver of the digital transformation of finance, which determines the prospects for the development of the global financial system and contributes to the further convergence of technology and the economy. The practical significance of the research lies in the possibility of applying the obtained results in various areas of the economy, financial system and management.