Decentralized lending is a mechanism for supplying and borrowing cryptoassets through DeFi protocols and smart contracts. Instead of relying on a traditional bank or credit institution, the lending market uses programmed rules to manage deposits, debt, interest, collateral, and liquidation.

Liquidity providers deposit assets into a lending market and can earn interest. Borrowers provide collateral and receive the ability to borrow available assets from the protocol.

The market can automatically account for liquidity, utilization, interest rates, debt, and collateral values. If a position becomes undercollateralized, liquidation mechanisms can be activated according to predefined rules.

Most decentralized lending systems rely on overcollateralization because the protocol generally cannot use traditional identity-based debt collection. Instead, the system must be able to enforce repayment economically through collateral.

Decentralized lending can be used to obtain liquidity without selling long-term holdings, construct trading strategies, hedge positions, or participate in yield-farming strategies.

Risks include smart-contract vulnerabilities, oracle failures, rapid market movements, liquidity shortages, and protocol governance risks. Unlike a traditional insured bank deposit, DeFi deposits generally do not have the same centralized protection mechanisms.