  Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is built on a fundamentally different paradigm:
rather than having to trust individuals and institutions, participants in DeFi
potentially only have to trust computer code that is enforced by a
decentralized network of computers. We examine a natural experiment that
exogenously stress tests this alternative paradigm by revealing the identities
of individuals associated with a DeFi protocol, including a convicted criminal.
We find that, in practice, DeFi does not (yet) fully remove the need for trust
in individuals. Our findings suggest that that because smart contracts are
incomplete, they are subject to run risk (Allen and Gale, 2004) and personal
character and trust of individuals are still relevant in this alternative
financial system.
