Orokai Publishes Research on Non-Custodial DeFi Adoption and Structural Barriers

Orokai has released a new research summary examining how non-custodial decentralized finance is being used today and why broader adoption remains limited. Published on February 2, 2026, from Dubai, the report focuses on protocol-level incentive structures, the growing responsibility placed on users in non-custodial systems, and the role aggregation layers can play in reducing complexity without taking custody of assets.

The research is framed against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty, persistent inflation, and weakening confidence in traditional banking products. As savings accounts and other conventional instruments struggle to preserve purchasing power, both retail and institutional investors are increasingly exploring on-chain alternatives. According to Orokai, non-custodial DeFi is no longer purely experimental and is now widely used for practical financial activity, including staking, borrowing, trading, and on-chain asset management.

Internal analysis suggests the sector is transitioning toward more structured participation, but that shift requires a fundamental change in how custody and control are understood. Unlike traditional finance, where recurring yield typically depends on handing assets over to banks or asset managers, non-custodial DeFi keeps assets in user-controlled wallets. Interaction happens directly with smart contracts, replacing institutional discretion with predefined, immutable code. Orokai describes this model as one built around sovereignty, where participants never request access to their own funds and instead rely on transparent, automated execution.

Complexity, Aggregation, and the Path Forward

Despite its advantages, the research identifies operational complexity as the main obstacle to wider adoption. Fragmentation across protocols, inconsistent user interfaces, and the time required to assess risks, audits, and transaction costs make non-custodial DeFi difficult to navigate for many participants. Orokai argues that this burden is incompatible with how most investors allocate their time, effectively limiting the audience to highly technical users.

To address this, the report highlights aggregation as a key structural solution. Rather than acting as custodians, aggregation layers aim to standardize access to selected protocols, simplify interaction flows, and abstract away technical overhead while leaving assets fully under user control. In this model, aggregation reduces friction without reintroducing the counterparty risks that non-custodial systems are designed to avoid.

The research also notes a broader shift in market priorities. As the DeFi sector matures, attention is moving away from headline yields toward transparency, sustainability, and risk awareness. Because all activity is recorded onchain, participants can independently verify transactions and system behavior rather than relying on disclosures from intermediaries. Orokai concludes that this gradual move toward transparent, non-custodial infrastructure is reshaping how yield mechanisms are designed, evaluated, and accessed, marking an important step in the evolution of on-chain finance.