ThefollowingisaguestarticlefromVincentMaliepaard,MarketingDirectoratIntoTheBlock. Economicriskshaveledtonearly$60billioninlossesacrossDeFiprotocols.Whilethisnumbermayseemhigh,itonlyreflectslossesattheprotocollevel.Theactualtotalislikelymuchlargerwhenfactoringinindividualuserlossesduetovariouseconomicriskfactors.Thesepersonallossesoftenarisefromvolatilemarketconditions,complexinter-protocoldependencies,andunexpectedliquidations. UnderstandingEconomicRiskinDeFi EconomicriskinDeFireferstothepotentialfinanciallossduetoadversemovementsinmarketconditions,liquiditycrises,flawedprotocoldesign,orexternaleconomicevents.Theserisksaremulti-facetedandcanstemfromvarioussources: MarketRisk:Volatilityinthevalueofassetscanleadtosignificantlosses.Forexample,suddenpricedropsincollateralizedassetscancauseliquidationevents,leadingtoacascadeofforcedsellingandfurtherpricedrops. LiquidityRisk:Theinabilitytoquicklybuyorsellassetswithoutcausingasignificantimpactontheprice.InDeFi,thiscanmanifestduringamarketsell-offwhenliquiditypoolsdryup,exacerbatinglosses. ProtocolRisk:ThisriskarisesfromflawsorinefficienciesinthedesignofDeFiprotocols.Impermanentloss,oraclemanipulation,andgovernanceattacksareexamplesofhowprotocol-specificriskscanmaterialize. ExternalRisk:Factorsoutsidetheprotocolsuchasactionsbylargemarketplayersorchangesinmacroratesandconditions,canintroducesignificantrisksthatareoftenbeyondthecontrolofusersoraprotocol. TheLayersWithinEconomicRisk InDeFi,economicrisksarepervasive,buttheycanbeunderstoodontwodistinctlevels:protocol-levelrisksanduser-levelrisks.Distinguishingbetweenthetwohelpsusersbetterdefinetherisksthataffecttheirstrategiesandmonitorkeysignalstotakepreventativeaction. ProtocolLevelRisks Protocolsimplementsafeguardsthroughvariableparametersdesignedtolimitexposuretoeconomiclosses.Acommonexampleisthelendingandborrowingparameterssetbylendingprotocols,whicharetestedandcalibratedtopreventbaddebtfromaccumulating.Thesemeasuresaregenerallyutilitarian,aimingtoprotecttheprotocolfromeconomicrisksonabroadscale,benefitingthelargestnumberofusers. Whilemanagingeconomicrisksisbecomingincreasinglyimportantforpreventinglarge-scalelossesattheprotocollevel,thefocusisnarrow—ontheprotocolitself.Theydon’taddresstherisksthatindividualusersmayintroducebymakingeconomicallyriskydecisionswithintheirownstrategies. UserLevelRisks User-levelrisksareoftenreducedtotheamountofleverageanindividualtakesinlongorshortpositions,butthisonlyscratchesthesurface.Usersfacearangeofadditionalrisks,suchasliquidations,impermanentloss,slippage,andthepotentialforlockedlendingliquidity.Theseindividualrisksdon’tusuallyfallunderthescopeofprotocolriskmanagement,butcanhaveasignificantfinancialimpactonindividualusers. Thegoodnewsisthattheseuser-leveleconomicrisksarehighlyactionable.Byunderstandingtheirownriskprofile,userscanactivelymanageandmitigatetherisksspecifictotheirstrategy.ThispersonalizedapproachtoriskmanagementremainsoneofthemostunderutilizedtoolsavailabletoDeFiparticipantstoday. TheinterconnectednatureofrisksacrossDeFiprotocols EconomicriskmanagementisessentialwhenaddressingrisksthatspanmultipleDeFiprotocols.Whileprotocolauditsandriskparametersstrengthenindividualprotocols,DeFiusersoftenengagewithmultipleprotocolsintheirstrategies.Thismakesuser-levelriskmanagementcrucial. Eachadditionalprotocolorassetintroducesnewriskfactors,notonlyfromthatnewprotocolbutalsofromhowtheseprotocolsinteract.Evenifeachprotocolissecureonitsown,riskscanemergefromhowyourstrategycombinesthesedifferentprotocols. Forexample,imagineascenariowhereauserutilizesaLiquidRestakingToken(LRT)ascollateraltoborrowanasset,whichisthendeployedinaliquiditypool(LP)onanexternalautomatedmarketmaker(AMM).Theprimaryconcernmightbetheleveragedborrowingposition,butthereareadditionalrisks.ThestabilityoftheLRT’spegcouldimpactliquidationinthelendingprotocol,whilethecompositionoftheLPcouldaffectslippageandexitfees,potentiallycausingcapitallosswhenrepayingtheloan.Theseinterconnectedrisksdon’tfallunderanysingleprotocol’scontrolandarethereforebestmanagedbytheuser. StepstoUnderstandandManageEconomicRisk ManagingeconomicriskinDeFirequiresawell-thought-outapproach,asthecomplexityofmulti-protocolstrategiescanintroduceunforeseenvulnerabilities. DeepDiveintoProtocolMechanics:Understandingtheunderlyingmechanicsofaprotocolisthefirststepinidentifyingpotentialeconomicrisks.Investorsanddevelopersshouldscrutinizetheeconomicmodels,assumptions,anddependencieswithintheprotocol. MonitorMarketIndicators:Keepinganeyeonmarketsignals,suchasassetvolatility,liquidity,andoverallsentiment,isessential.Analyzingon-chaindataspecifictotheprotocolsyou’reusingisapracticalwaytostayinformed.Forinstance,ifyou’reengagingwithalendingstrategyonBenqi,monitoringthehealthfactorofloansontheplatformiscrucial.Thisprovidesinsightsintohowstableyourlendingpositionisandhelpsyouanticipatepotentialissuesbeforetheyescalate. Createaholisticriskprofile:Understandinghowinterconnectedrisksmayimpactyouroverallstrategyiskeytoeffectiveriskmanagement.Whileindividualstrategiesvary,riskanalyticscanassistinidentifyingareasofconcern.Forexample,ifyou’reusingaLiquidRestakingToken(LRT)ascollateraltoborrowassets,monitoringthestabilityoftheLRT’spegisessentialtoavoidunexpectedliquidations.Suddenspikesorvolatilityinthepegcouldsignalaneedtotakeprecautionarymeasures,suchasreducingexposureorincreasingcollateral. Insummary,managingeconomicriskinDeFiisaboutbeingproactive.Byunderstandingprotocolmechanics,keepingaclosewatchonmarketindicators,andbuildingaholisticviewofpotentialrisks,userscanbetternavigatethechallengesofmulti-protocolstrategiesandprotecttheirpositions. cryptoslate.com