Decentralized Finance Wealth Management New Era: From Complexity to Simplicity, From Professionalism to Popularization

Recently, a project called Glider completed a $4 million funding round, led by the renowned venture capital firm a16z's startup accelerator CSX. The emergence of Glider signifies that the DeFi field is moving towards simplification and popularization.

The DeFi industry is at an important turning point. The complex on-chain operations of the past are being simplified, and the underlying technological infrastructure has gradually matured. Many traditional models are facing opportunities for reshaping, and new opportunities continue to emerge. The application of new technologies such as Intent, on-chain robots, and AI agents all need to address the issue of user authorization.

The Glider project originated from an internal startup of a certain company at the end of 2023. Its core concept is to integrate different Decentralized Finance operational steps, providing users with a convenient investment and usage experience. Although this model is not novel, building such a product stack is technically not difficult with the support of new technologies such as AI and large language models. The real challenge lies in how to attract user traffic and establish a trust mechanism.

Looking back, a similar project called Furucombo received investment in 2020, focusing on simplifying Decentralized Finance strategies. However, due to the difficulty for retail investors to effectively capture on-chain yield opportunities, the project failed to retain users in the long term. Compared to the unsustainability of yields, security issues and strategy optimization are actually secondary factors. In an era of high returns, it is difficult for prudent financial management to find a place to survive.

Currently, asset management is becoming more accessible to the public. From the yield calculations presented by DeFillama to the continuous operations of Exponential, there is a strong market demand for on-chain ETF-like tools. However, the transparency of the blockchain makes it difficult to keep efficient strategies confidential, which may ultimately lead to vicious competition and a flattening of yields.

In the future, the DeFi industry may shift towards providing stable returns for ordinary users. Just as index funds and 401(k) plans have driven the long-term bull market in the U.S. stock market, on-chain investments are also expected to offer relatively stable income for a large number of retail investors. This could be the focus of the next stage of DeFi development.

With the advancement of RWA( real-world assets) on-chain, the integration of traditional financial assets with blockchain technology is accelerating. Whether it is complex asset types or diverse on-chain Decentralized Finance strategies, they are driving centralized exchange users to migrate on-chain. Some emerging projects have already proven that transferring liquidity and yield on-chain is feasible.

Overall, the DeFi industry is undergoing a transition from professional complexity to simple popularity. In the future, how to balance AI-assisted decision-making with human intervention, and how to build strategies for user-generated content ( UGC ) community, are all directions worth exploring. Despite challenges such as authorization and risk allocation, the cryptocurrency field, as an open and innovative area, is still full of infinite possibilities.