DeFi Protect
An institutional‑grade insurance solution for exposures to decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) refers to a rapidly growing ecosystem of blockchain-based financial applications that enable activities such as lending, borrowing, trading, liquidity provision and yield generation without relying on traditional financial intermediaries.
Institutional investors are increasingly using DeFi protocols to deploy stablecoins and other digital assets into professionally managed investment strategies, seeking enhanced capital efficiency, continuous liquidity and additional sources of return that are often uncorrelated with traditional financial markets.
Despite the availability of sophisticated risk management technologies, including real-time monitoring, threat intelligence and automated response solutions, DeFi exposures remain subject to protocol-level vulnerabilities and exploit events that can result in significant financial losses.
Why insurance matters
Target market participants
Institutional DeFi Participants
Banks, asset managers, digital asset funds, family offices and corporate treasuries allocating capital across DeFi markets and strategies.
Financial Institutions & Service Providers
Custodians, banks, broker platforms, wealth managers, exchanges and other financial institutions enabling clients to access and manage DeFi-powered investment opportunities.
Protocol Foundations & Operators
Protocol foundations, governance bodies and ecosystem operators seeking to enhance institutional confidence, accelerate adoption and strengthen protocol credibility.
As institutional capital enters DeFi markets, risk transfer becomes an essential component of the overall risk management framework. DeFi Protect helps convert protocol risk into a more manageable and investable exposure.
Covered DeFi risk events
Coverage is tailored to the Insured's Covered DeFi Strategy and responds to defined protocol risks affecting the protocols on which the strategy relies, including:
Smart Contract Risk
Losses arising from vulnerabilities or defects in smart contract code.
Protocol Design Risk
Losses arising from flaws in protocol architecture or incentive mechanisms.
Oracle Risk
Losses arising from failures or manipulation of external data inputs.
Governance Risk
Losses arising from governance failures or harmful governance actions.
Each Covered DeFi Strategy is individually assessed and underwritten. Coverage scope and available limits depend on the strategy's protocol exposures, risk characteristics and overall portfolio considerations. The solution is designed to support institutional deployments through the provision of significant insurance capacity for approved strategies.
Further solutions to protect your digital assets
Staking Risk Insurance
Staking risk insurance safeguards against potential slashing risks inherent in Proof‑of‑Stake consensus mechanisms such as Ethereum, shielding investors from losses caused by network rule violations.
Who benefits from the cover:
- Staking service operators
- Professional custodians / crypto trading platforms using the services of staking operators
- Institutional asset owners as first-party “own loss” coverage in respect of third-party staking operators
Digital Asset Comprehensive Crime Policy
Our digital asset comprehensive crime policy is specifically designed to protect digital assets under your custody and to cover your liability against a wide range of threats.
Who benefits from the cover:
- Professional custodians securing large volumes of crypto assets
- Institutional holders of cryptocurrencies and tokenized real-world assets
- Wallet technology providers, and DeFi protocols where comprehensive coverage of smart contract risks is essential
Why partner with Munich Re?
Learn more about DeFi Protect
Discuss coverage requirements
Contact our New Tech Underwriting team to discuss early access and technical specifications.
Get in touch:
