The Role of DeFi Protocols in Corporate Treasury and Liquidity Management

Corporate treasury departments face growing challenges created by liquidity fragmentation, inefficient cash management, and delayed cross-border settlements-a perfect storm for increased financial risks for the firms and for operational difficulties. The present-day treasury systems rely on centralized banking and manual processes. A traditional one thus lacks the flexibility and the transparency needed in today’s very uncertain global environment.Decentralized finance (DeFi) is presented in this paper as an essential infrastructure layer that has the potential to transform how businesses handle liquidity. DeFi offers programmable, real-time, and international financial execution through the use of smart contracts, algorithmic liquidity pools, decentralized exchanges, and tokenized assets. Conceptual modeling links DeFi mechanics to essential treasury functions, comparative analysis examines DeFi and traditional systems, and scenario simulations explore practical examples of corporate use cases.It is found that DeFi can enhance access to liquidity, reduce transaction costs, and automate treasury operations, especially with respect to intercompany fund flows, short-term financing, and FX execution. However, adoption needs strong governance frameworks, regulatory agreement, and technical compatibility with existing systems. This study offers a practical framework for CFOs, fintech developers, and policymakers to evaluate DeFi’s role in corporate treasury environments. It positions decentralized infrastructure as a useful tool for next-generation liquidity strategies.