In recent months, the crypto world has been watching with rapt attention as countless decentralized finance (DeFi) projects have made their debut. The idea behind DeFi is to finally fulfill the promise that made cryptocurrencies so attractive in the first place – that is to wrest control of mainstream financial instruments from big banks and governments and put them under the control of everyday people using the blockchain as a medium.

The trouble with many current DeFi projects is that while they do eliminate traditional institutions from the mix, they instead transfer ultimate control over to a select group of insiders who have their own financial motives and agendas. It's an arrangement that's ripe for abuse, and something that should be anathema to anyone who believes in the true promise of DeFi.

But now, there's a DeFi solution that's on a mission to deliver where so many others have failed. It's called the Meridian Network, and it's designed to be a platform that fosters DeFi innovation while remaining under the direct control of individual investors. It's a radical departure from the status quo that its founders believe is long overdue.

According to Mark, one of the Meridian Network's founders, ."We noticed that most DeFi dApps were external to users' control, and we thought finding a way to give some of that control back to users would be a good starting point.." And that's where the idea for one of the Meridian Network's core features came from – the inclusion of a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

The purpose of Meridian's DAO is twofold. First, it's to serve as a central point for users to learn about the latest dApps and to provide an infrastructure for investors to vote on new additions to the Meridian platform. According to Yomonk, Meridian's other founding member, ."We want to build an ecosystem of DeFi dApps that is governed by its own DAO and allow our traders/investors to easily learn about these dApps and also educate each other to find winning strategies in the market.."

But the DAO isn't the only symbol of the Meridian Network's commitment to remain a user-driven platform. They've also placed direct control over the platform's ongoing development into the hands of a 100% non-profit organization known as the Meridian Foundation. It will have the ultimate responsibility to oversee all future development, taking its cues only from the consensus of investors delivered via the DAO.

And to make sure that every new dApp that becomes a part of the Meridian Network ecosystem is both well-crafted and secure, the founders have entered into a partnership with Hacken, a leader in the world of cybersecurity. Under the terms of the agreement, Hacken will provide guidance and expertise on the ongoing development of the Meridian Network. And they will also offer advice on the feasibility of any dApp proposals that emerge from the DAO as a result of the investor voting process.

The first of those successful proposals is a blockchain-based prediction market called PreSaga. When it goes live, holders of LOCK tokens will be able to use them to place bets on various outcomes related to everything from financial markets to sports and world events. Impressively, Meridian has already entered a synergy with industry leader TrustSwap which will allow for the integration of their escrow services into the PreSaga dApp.

And they haven't stopped there. Meridian is also exploring integrating the best-in-class oracle middleware created by Chainlink to bring tamper-proof inputs and outputs to the PreSaga dApp. This will simultaneously allow for seamless connections to external data APIs and facilitate a variety of payout options, should they become a part of the dApp.

Based on the pace of development so far, the early work on PreSaga should be followed closely by a string of developments that will advance the founders' vision of a DeFi platform that's of the people, for the people, and by the people – marking the dawn of a new day in the exciting and rapidly-growing world of DeFi.

About Meridian Network

Meridian Network is a platform designed to facilitate a community-governed suite of DeFi dApps. Its vision is to enable a new wave of DeFi innovation that is both investor-driven and investor-controlled. With an all-star team of crypto pioneers at the helm, Meridian aims to deliver on its promise of true decentralized financial products for the masses.