# Liquidity Pool
In [DeFi](defi.md) systems a *liquidity pool* refers to a "pool" of [cryptoasset](cryptoasset.md) (typically [stablecoins](stablecoin.md)) that are locked in a smart contract. The pool provides [liquidity](liquidity.md) for end users who want to use the underlying crypto asset for swap transactions who in turn pay transaction fees, theoretically these transaction fees are then used to incentivize the stablecoin holders who [stake](staking.md) their tokens in the pool by generating yield in return for liquidity.

See also [counterparty risk](counterparty-risk.md), [DeFi](defi.md), and  [deposit insurance](deposit-insurance.md).

## References
1. Allen, Hilary J. 2022. ‘DeFi: Shadow Banking 2.0?’ William & Mary Law Review, Forthcoming.
1. Walch, Angela. 2019. ‘Deconstructing ‘Decentralization’: Exploring the Core Claim of Crypto Systems’. C. Brummer (Ed.), Crypto Assets: Legal and Monetary Perspectives, 1–36. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3326244.
1. Aramonte, Sirio, Wenqian Huang, and Andreas Schrimpf. 2021. ‘DeFi Risks and the Decentralisation Illusion’, 16.
1. Sun, Xiaotong. 2021. ‘Centralized Governance in Decentralized Finance (DeFi): A Case Study of MakerDAO’. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3971791.
1. Zetzsche, Dirk A., Douglas W. Arner, and Ross P. Buckley. 2020. ‘Decentralized Finance’. Journal of Financial Regulation 6 (2): 172–203. https://doi.org/10.1093/jfr/fjaa010.