This is a tricky one.
Smart contracts, who doesn't know about them in the 21st century? Surely only one who hasn't heard of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance.
The funny thing about the world is that it is its own problem, rather than tackle the problems that burdens a man, he'd rather have Dan do it and Dan surely wants to make the most out of the labor of his hands, thus cometh corruption.
Freedom is a lot of work
What is the price for freedom?
Truly I tell you, the price for freedom doesn't matter, the cost of maintaining it is what matters and not a lot of people want to bear that cost.
The reason there's a government is because it's so convenient to have someone else look after our safety, no?
The reason we opt to keep our money with the banks is that it is more convenient to have someone else safeguard it, no?
We see that in several instances, we "opted in" to use these services, to let these laws be written and upheld, we did it all ourselves. Were we manipulated at some points? Yes, we were, but having come to know the truth, we still opt to have someone else hold certain positions up as it has become a bliss even when the effects are daunting.
We opted in to be secured but in a much naked knowledge, to secure something, one must first build a cage around it, no? So in reality, we opted in to be imprisoned.
Like I said, this is a tricky one.
How does this relate to crypto, automation in finance and smart contracts?
What if it's called "smart contracts" because you don't actually get to read the terms of service?
Now I know that when I put it that way, I sound like a conspiracy theorist, but where's the fun in writing boring finance copies when I can "opt" to cause the mind to break a sweat?
I love the idea of automation, but the implementation of it leaves me skeptical.
In other finance structures, it is simply called "automation" but in blockchain it is called "smart contracts" but they both are the same thing, just different environments(and sometimes mode of implementation).
We have fallen in love with smart contracts because they ease operations, but high efficiency often forfeits "individual" security.
Smart contracts are cool, they bring about automation of financial services on the blockchain, but they aren't always decentralized! Specifically in the decentralized finance ecosystem - amongst DeFi protocols.
In fact, in theory a smart contract should not be decentralized but centralized to itself, no?
The idea is to eradicate the influence of humans and be self-executing, no? So if that be the case, having a work around its immutability would mean breaking the rules of smart contracts.
We do not discuss security as much as we should, this is why DeFi has seen millions, hang on, billions? Being exploited from its ecosystem and all has what to blame? Smart contracts?
I for one believe that the only form of "decentralized finance" is having your assets stored in your non-custodial wallets. When you have to start interacting with these "third-party" smart investments protocols as I like to call them, you're voluntarily exposing your assets to several points of centralized risks.
Something you should only do when you understand exactly what you are doing.
It is important to understand that most smart contracts have backdoors built into them. Remember that the cost of maintaining freedom is a lot? Yes, this is why there's the risk in DeFi, because not many of us have the knowledge nor the time to review codes so we "opt" to trusting the words of the builders and third-party auditing companies.