Category: Finance

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Finance

5 Reasons Decentralized Finance Appeals to a Lot of People

Decentralized finance (DeFi) has revolutionized the way the world manages finances. By using emerging financial technologies, decentralized finance, as a process, allows users to perform financial transactions without the need for third parties and centralized institutions. However, with DeFi operating largely outside traditional regulations, it has made a lot of people skeptical of its credibility and place within the financial ecosystem. Nevertheless, the number of individuals who find DeFi’s offerings and features appealing is growing. Here are some of the reasons why:

It’s Accessible

Traditional financial systems often pose significant barriers to entry, such as stringent eligibility criteria, extensive paperwork, and geographic restrictions. In contrast, decentralized finance platforms are designed to be inclusive and universally accessible, enabling anyone with an internet connection and a digital wallet to participate. Leveraging blockchain technology, DeFi facilitates peer-to-peer transactions directly between users. Doing so doesn’t only streamline the transaction process, but it also makes financial services more accessible to a broader audience.

Moreover, DeFi platforms operate 24/7. This round-the-clock availability is particularly beneficial for individuals in different time zones and those who need to manage their finances outside conventional banking hours. It ensures that users can access financial services at any time, providing greater flexibility and convenience.

It’s Safe

While the decentralized nature of DeFi platforms may concern many individuals because there is no central authority to oversee and guarantee transactions, this unique feature actually significantly adds to their security. Traditional financial systems rely on centralized entities that can become single points of failure, vulnerable to hacking, fraud, or institutional malfeasance. In contrast, DeFi platforms operate on decentralized networks, distributing data and control across multiple nodes. This decentralization makes it exceedingly difficult for any single entity to compromise the system, thereby enhancing overall security.

Many decentralized finance applications also implement various robust security measures to keep their users’ private information and finances safe. Monero (XMR), for instance, uses advanced cryptographic techniques to provide XMR wallet users enhanced privacy. Unlike many other cryptocurrencies, where transaction details are publicly visible on the blockchain, Monero employs ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions to obscure the identities of the sender and receiver, as well as the transaction amount. This level of privacy ensures that user transactions remain confidential and secure from prying eyes, providing a higher level of security compared to traditional financial systems and other cryptocurrencies.

Furthermore, DeFi protocols often incorporate smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code. These smart contracts are deployed on blockchain networks, ensuring that they’re immutable and tamper-proof.

It’s Transparent

Decentralized finance offers a level of openness that fosters trust and accountability among its users. All transactions conducted on a blockchain are recorded on a public ledger that is accessible to anyone. This means that any user can independently verify transactions, view the flow of funds, and audit the system’s integrity. This level of visibility is unprecedented in traditional finance, where financial transactions and institutional practices are typically hidden from public scrutiny.

The transparency of DeFi is not just limited to transactions. Even the underlying code and protocols that govern DeFi platforms are often open-source. Thus, the code is publicly available for anyone to inspect, review, and audit. This allows the community of developers and users to collaboratively identify and fix vulnerabilities, ensuring that the system remains robust and secure. This communal oversight helps to build trust, as users can see firsthand how the system operates and verify that it functions as intended.

Moreover, the transparency of DeFi platforms can lead to more informed decision-making by users. With access to comprehensive data and a clear view of how the system operates, users can make better-informed choices about where to invest, how to manage their assets, and which platforms to trust. This can lead to more efficient and effective financial management, benefiting users at all levels.

It Offers Low Fees and High Interest Rates

Decentralized finance platforms operate with significantly lower overhead costs because they eliminate the need for intermediaries. Transactions occur directly between users on the blockchain, which reduces the fees associated with middlemen. This efficiency translates into lower transaction costs for users, making financial services more affordable and accessible. In addition to low fees, DeFi platforms are known for offering high interest rates on savings and investments. Traditional banks typically offer minimal interest rates on savings accounts. DeFi, however, provides more lucrative opportunities through various financial products such as staking, yield farming, and liquidity provision. These products allow users to earn substantial returns on their digital assets, far surpassing the interest rates offered by traditional banks.

It’s Autonomous

Autonomy in decentralized finance means that users have full control over their assets. It enables them to hold and manage their assets directly through digital wallets. With control over their private keys, users are solely responsible for their funds, reducing the risks associated with third-party custody. Moreover, the autonomy of DeFi contributes to greater innovation and flexibility in financial products and services. Without the constraints of regulatory frameworks and institutional policies, DeFi developers can experiment with new financial instruments and create tailored solutions that meet the diverse needs of users. This open and dynamic environment fosters continuous improvement and adaptation, ensuring that DeFi platforms remain at the forefront of financial innovation.

Decentralized finance has emerged as a transformative force in the financial industry. It offers a plethora of benefits that appeal to a diverse range of users, from investors and traders to tech enthusiasts and developers. As DeFi continues to evolve and gain traction, its potential to democratize finance and foster greater financial inclusion remains promising.

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Finance Marketing & Advertising Retail

What Is Footfall Data? All You Need To Know About Foot-traffic In 2023

Footfall data is something that has been around for a while now. But what do we mean by footfall?

This kind of dataset has changed depending on the use case and industry.

In fact, footfall has moved beyond simply measuring the number of people that enter a location.

We’ll take you on a deep dive into footfall data. We’ll show you what it is with detailed examples, as well as what it can be used for across many industries.

What is footfall?

Before we look at footfall data, we need to explain what footfall is.

For us, we have always defined footfall as:

The way that a group behave and move in the real world.

This explains the who, what, when and why of how this group of people visit a location.

This could be different for each business.

But mainly footfall can tell you:

  • Trends around behaviour
  • Changes in demographics
  • Visits to real-world locations
  • Anonymised data trends

Essentially footfall means understanding how people move and behave in the real world.

 

So what is footfall data, and what does it look like?

Footfall data is sometimes referred to as foot traffic data. It’s a data set that will usually contain a number of entries. 

The dataset as a whole will signify a number of visits to a real-world location.

These are aggregated and delivered in a few different ways.

 

Aggregated visits to a location

This will be a data set in which the number of visits to a location is aggregated. This is usually done by some kind of time window, such as hourly, daily, weekly or monthly.

 

Individual visits to a location

Similar to the above, but this time each row will signify a visit to a location. This will usually come with a timestamp and will be up to the person receiving the data to aggregate the data as they wish.

 

Characteristics of visitors at a location

In this dataset, the visits to a location are overlayed with demographics data to understand the calibre of person visiting the chosen location.

 

Comparisons of visitors to a location

This dataset will contain a comparison between two locations based on the desired metric. This could be demographic or an hourly number of visits.

 

Where is footfall/foot traffic data generated from?

These datasets can come from a myriad of sources. It’s important that you understand where your footfall data is generated from, as this can affect its accuracy. The most common sources are as follows:

 

Geospatial/Location data

Data is usually generated from a mobile device. This is collected and aggregated to protect user privacy. A good amount of versatility as a single data set can be used to measure visits to numerous locations. A good balance of scale and accuracy.

 

Sensory data

These are usually physical sensors that are placed in entrances to stores. Very accurate but limited mainly to retail and requires stores to install physical tech, so not very scalable.

 

Purchase data

This kind of footfall data involves taking payment data to understand changing traffic in stores. It can be scalable but is not very accurate. This is mainly due to the fact that you are measuring purchases as opposed to visits.

 

How can footfall data help my business?

Traffic and movement trends

One of the main use cases for footfall data is for understanding changing traffic and movement trends.

These kinds of insights are valuable for businesses that are interested in physical locations. 

Examples of this use case are:

  • A retail location understands the changing number of visitors to its location. This could be a store or a real estate planner.
  • A city planner understands macro visits changes to plan infrastructure.
  • Financial companies looking to identify trends in behaviour for investment purposes.
  • OOH media owners measure how many people have seen their ads.

 

Visitor demographics

As mentioned, with overlapping datasets, it’s possible to show the demographic of visitors to locations. These demographics are features such as age, gender, interests. 

This use case traditionally sits more on the side of marketing and advertising. 

Example use cases are:

  • Marketers target consumers who have visited a real-world location.
  • Building lookalike audiences in advertising platforms.

 

Competitive analysis

This is similar to our first use case, but the target location will typically be a competitor. 

Examples of this use case are:

  • A store measures competitors’ traffic to target them with advertising.
  • A new site planner understands competitive performance to decide where to open a new site or venue.

 

Training ML

Footfall data can also be used to train emerging ML models. These models are being used to power new tools that can help solve problems in the real world.

Examples of this use case are:

  • Predictive insights into footfall
  • Complex financial predictions

 

Example of footfall data

Get started with best-in-class footfall data today.