bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

John Ge

Two contrasting narratives on the future of digital assets are playing out. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde recently restated her opinion that they are “worth nothing”. On the other hand, the Monetary Authority of Singapore last week launched Project Guardian, a pilot initiative to further explore the use of asset tokenisation and decentralised finance (DeFi).
While a multilateral consensus on the value-creation potential of digital assets isn’t on the horizon, there is a risk of not seeing the wood for the trees if an idea is grounded in absolutism rather than pragmatism.
DeFi is not a revolution, but an evolution. It is a new paradigm that exponentially expands the reach of existing financial services into the future and can only be seen as a complement to traditional finance systems, creating greater value and promoting financial accessibility to the masses.
We can draw comparisons to today’s crypto landscape by studying the development of the humble mobile phone over the years, into the widely prevalent smartphones that are used today. Before the development of apps, mobile phones were one-dimensional in purpose – they allowed you to make and receive calls on the go and send the occasional text message (and maybe more advanced versions would have the latest Snake or Space Invaders game as a fun add-on).
However, the advent of smartphones and the app store, since 2005, saw something akin to a telecommunications Big Bang. Millions of new applications suddenly became available or were being developed. Importantly, this change did not come about through a centralised initiative or as a grand plan decreed from individual genius. It was transparent, collaborative and accessible to all, allowing various entities to freely join in and opt out.
Similarly, DeFi today embodies this transparent and permissionless nature, which has allowed it to evolve seamlessly and quickly. There is no consensus on just how it might evolve further, but evolve it will. Its course is set and it will soon reach critical mass.

DeFi is both fluid and far-reaching. It can access areas previously untouched by traditional finance systems, helping to tokenise and financialise assets that may not previously have had a value, or were difficult to value.
Other concepts such as fungibility – the ability of a good or asset to be interchanged with others of the same type – are also comparatively new, but have demonstrated their incredible use in transactions beyond the traditional sense, such as in collateral for loans or margins for trading.
Therefore, the rapid growth of DeFi means we are at a watershed moment for financial services. By allowing the definition of finance to expand into a much broader set of categories, a much broader set of activities can correspondingly emerge and be utilised by today’s financial systems.
This will improve our knowledge and understanding of finance, as well as how we can use it for the betterment of our lives, in how we live, work or play, and so on. This is what we mean when we talk about DeFi leading the “financialisation of everything”, a term describing the move to ascribe financial rights to a broader set of assets.
What decentralised finance can teach the world of business and geopolitics
This process is not new. Renowned economist Hernando de Soto pioneered the application of property rights towards alleviating poverty in his book, The Mystery Of Capital. He highlighted how extending property rights to even the smallest parcel of land or dwelling could give impoverished individuals an asset which they could financialise and pledge as collateral for loans to build businesses and escape the poverty trap. DeFi works with this same transformative power.
Globally, we see varying rates of DeFi adoption. Naturally, it is better received in countries with less-developed economies and poorer regulatory and financial standards. After all, these countries have much greater incentives to find ways to improve the financial infrastructure within their economies.
DeFi can broaden their asset base and remove the structural constraints of existing financial systems. It is no surprise that, as more people have opened MetaMask accounts in the Philippines in the past year, this has also led to substantial growth in the number of people with bank accounts.

It is still early days for DeFi and, as with all new technologies, there are growing pains. DeFi interfaces are still complicated and clunky, and it is also difficult to explain the concept to the layperson, let alone impoverished farmers in Third World agrarian economies. How does one begin to espouse the use of smart contracts or finance-based protocols?
DeFi needs intermediaries and we can expect the next surge of activity to be focused on enhancing customer experiences. Making DeFi products and services as easy to use as downloading an app will lead to a major boost in adoption.
A beginner’s guide to minting NFTs on the OpenSea platform
Currently, only a few companies can provide such a user-friendly and focused gateway for users to come directly into DeFi, using only a few taps or keystrokes to see with full transparency all potential yield-generating products.
However, many milestones are constantly being reached in the industry and we will see an integrated DeFI world within our lifetimes, where everything is financialised and whose value is ultimately in the direct hands of owners and users.
In Singapore, the mobile phone penetration rate was only 13.6 per cent in 1992 and by 2006, a mere 14 years later, it had crossed the 100 per cent threshold. Can we not perhaps expect a similar trend for DeFi adoption?
John Ge is CEO and co-founder of Matrixport, one of the world’s largest digital asset financial services platforms


In solving real-world needs, decentralised finance can only continue to grow

Bitcoin and the Byecoin app are advertised in the window of a store in Antwerp, Belgium. Despite ECB President Christine Lagarde’s view that cryptocurrencies are “worth nothing”, digital assets continue to hold considerable appeal for many. Photo: Bloomberg 

A man uses his mobile phone while charging it at a public station in New Delhi on June 1. The development of the humble mobile – from a simple device for making calls to a multi-use device indispensable to the modern lifestyle – shows how DeFi can evolve. Photo: AFP

People throng a street in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on June 3. Photo: EPA-EFE

Opinion

Comment

Business


By creating greater value and promoting financial accessibility to the masses, DeFi complements traditional banking, rather than replacing it
Its transparent and permissionless nature has also allowed it to evolve quickly



By creating greater value and promoting financial accessibility to the masses, DeFi complements traditional banking, rather than replacing it. Its transparent and permissionless nature has also allowed it to evolve quickly.


Digital currencies

Banking & finance

Blockchain

Fintech

The View

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

The View | In solving real-world needs, decentralised finance can only continue to grow

By creating greater value and promoting financial accessibility to the masses, DeFi complements traditional banking, rather than replacing it Its transparent and permissionless nature has also allowed it to evolve quickly

By creating greater value and promoting financial accessibility to the masses, DeFi complements traditional banking, rather than replacing it

Its transparent and permissionless nature has also allowed it to evolve quickly