We're all familiar with the concept of lending & borrowing 💰
But what if there was a way to do it without any middlemen? 👀

This is where @AaveAave comes into the picture 👻

So what is it, how does it work, and why is it important in DeFi? 🤔

Let's get into it 👇

What is @AaveAave? 🔍

Aave is a decentralized lending protocol that lets people lend, borrow and earn interest on crypto assets, without any middlemen.

So instead of relying on banks for these services, you rely on transparent, smart contracts that run on the blockchain.
Founded in 2017 by @StaniKulechov, Aave was originally called ETHLend.

They started as a peer-to-peer protocol that matched lenders to borrowers but later pivoted to a system where people borrow from liquidity pools and rebranded to Aave which is Finnish for ghost 👻
How does it work? 💡

For lenders:
Anyone can deposit their crypto assets into a liquidity pool and earn interest on it

For borrowers:
Anyone can borrow crypto assets from a liquidity pool and pay interest on it

The rates are calculated algorithmically based on liquidity.
To facilitate lending & borrowing, Aave issues two types of tokens:

1. aTokens - issued against deposited assets to lenders, they increase proportionally with interest generated by the AAVE pool

2. $AAVE tokens - this is Aave's DAO token that also incentivizes borrowers
There are two types of loans one can get from AAVE:

1. Regular loan - deposit collateral and borrow from the liquidity pool

2. Flash loan - borrow without any collateral (we'll explain)

The latter is @AaveAave's key feature ✨
What's a regular loan in @AaveAave? 💰

Borrowers need to deposit collateral in the form of any accepted asset in the liquidity pool before they can borrow.

For example, you can put in $DAI as collateral and borrow $ETH from Aave.
What are Flash loans? ⚡

Flash loans allow anyone to borrow assets instantly without having to put up any collateral. But there is a catch 😅

The flash loan must be issued and paid back with any interest and fees within a single block on the blockchain.
So what's the point of a flash loan? 🤔

Flash loans are mostly used by traders who practice 'arbitrage' – an investment strategy in which an investor simultaneously buys and sells an asset in different markets to take advantage of a price difference to generate a profit.
Why is @AaveAave important in DeFi? 💫

We can categorize this into three main components:

1. Liquidity pools
2. Permissionless
3. Non-custodial

Let's break it down 👇
1. Liquidity pools 🏊‍♂️

This removes the need to wait for a bank to match a borrower to a lender who's willing to lend at a fixed price and then pay the bank fees for that service.

Instead of trusting a centralized entity with your funds, it's in a secure liquidity pool 🤝
2. Permissionless 🙅

There are no gatekeepers or borders to entry. Anybody anywhere in the world now has access to acquiring low-interest loans without any barriers like credit scores, KYCs, employment status, etc.

No more barriers set by banks and high-interest rates ⚖️
3. Non-custodial 📝

For the first time, a non-person entity, like @AaveAave's lending smart contracts, is able to hold and manage real money.

When you deposit assets on Aave, nobody has control over your assets but you. This is not the case in traditional finance 🥲
If you want to learn more about @AaveAave in-depth, check out their FAQs doc: https://t.co/vRTXUnwuMp

@WhiteboardCryp1 also has a great explainer video if you want more specifics: https://t.co/Rzwh5wVb2Q
We're on a mission to lower barriers to the space & make it simple for anyone to invest in crypto through indexes 📈

Our first index tracks the performance of 10 DeFi assets including $AAVE, with just a few taps on your phone 📲

Join the waitlist: https://t.co/xGHVV2k5Ue
If you found this thread to be valuable, we'd highly appreciate a RT as it helps us reach out to more people wanting to learn about web3/crypto 🙌

Do follow us at @alongsidefi for more such threads as we're investing heavily in education ✨

Have a great day! ☀️

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1. Mini Thread on Conflicts of Interest involving the authors of the Nature Toilet Paper:
https://t.co/VUYbsKGncx
Kristian G. Andersen
Andrew Rambaut
Ian Lipkin
Edward C. Holmes
Robert F. Garry

2. Thanks to @newboxer007 for forwarding the link to the research by an Australian in Taiwan (not on

3. K.Andersen didn't mention "competing interests"
Only Garry listed Zalgen Labs, which we will look at later.
In acknowledgements, Michael Farzan, Wellcome Trust, NIH, ERC & ARC are mentioned.
Author affiliations listed as usual.
Note the 328 Citations!
https://t.co/nmOeohM89Q


4. Kristian Andersen (1)
Andersen worked with USAMRIID & Fort Detrick scientists on research, with Robert Garry, Jens Kuhn & Sina Bavari among


5. Kristian Andersen (2)
Works at Scripps Research Institute, which WAS in serious financial trouble, haemorrhaging 20 million $ a year.
But just when the first virus cases were emerging, they received great news.
They issued a press release dated November 27, 2019:
The best morning routine?

Starts the night before.

9 evening habits that make all the difference:

1. Write down tomorrow's 3:3:3 plan

• 3 hours on your most important project
• 3 shorter tasks
• 3 maintenance activities

Defining a "productive day" is crucial.

Or else you'll never be at peace (even with excellent output).

Learn more


2. End the workday with a shutdown ritual

Create a short shutdown ritual (hat-tip to Cal Newport). Close your laptop, plug in the charger, spend 2 minutes tidying your desk. Then say, "shutdown."

Separating your life and work is key.

3. Journal 1 beautiful life moment

Delicious tacos, presentation you crushed, a moment of inner peace. Write it down.

Gratitude programs a mindset of abundance.

4. Lay out clothes

Get exercise clothes ready for tomorrow. Upon waking up, jump rope for 2 mins. It will activate your mind + body.

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