As a seasoned analyst with years of experience navigating the cryptocurrency market, I find the rebranding of Maker to Sky and its stablecoin DAI to USDS quite intriguing. The shift towards affordability and accessibility for individual investors is a strategic move that could potentially attract a broader user base. However, the success of this transition will heavily depend on the seamless integration of the new system and the user-friendly experience promised by Sky.money.


The well-known DeFi lending platform originally known as “Maker” on Ethereum has decided to change its name to “Sky,” reflecting significant enhancements made to its decentralized stablecoin infrastructure.

The digital currency that was once called DAI is now known as USDS following a rebranding. Additionally, the Maker Governance token has been renamed to SKY.

From MKR to SKY: What’s New?

On Twitter, it was announced on Tuesday that SKY represents an enhanced iteration of MKR. Users can acquire SKY by depositing USDS tokens into the Sky protocol via Sky.money. One DAI is equivalent to one USDS token, while one MKR is exchangeable for 24,000 SKY tokens.

The transformation will significantly lower the cost of each SKY token compared to MKR tokens, which are presently being traded at approximately $2,123 per token, as reported by CoinGecko. It’s worth noting that MKR ranks 41st in terms of market capitalization among all cryptocurrencies.

Utilizing the Sky Protocol, Sky.money promises a smooth and non-custodial way for users to access Sky’s tokens and benefits, all with an outstanding user experience. Furthermore, the Sky protocol enables effortless conversion of ETH, USDC, and USDT into USDS.

Your assets kept with Sky are under your control at all times, meaning you can retrieve them from the system whenever you wish, without needing approval. If the DAO’s decentralized management deems it feasible, users might potentially gain tokens from various decentralized initiatives through Sky as well.

The Evolution of DeFi

As per MakerDAO co-founder Rune Christensen, the rebranding to Sky signifies an attempt to embody its part in the “next stage of Decentralized Finance (DeFi)”.

“He explained to CoinTelegraph that the design of this protocol emphasizes simplicity and user-friendliness. This means it’s accessible for users who can take advantage of features like Sky Token Rewards (STRs) and the Sky Savings Rate (SSR), but only if they reside in an eligible region.”

The rebranding process involves changing Maker’s “SubDAOs” to “Sky Stars”. These DAOs, linked to Maker governance, retain a level of self-governance, with their unique governance tokens and procedures. Essentially, Sky Stars serve as Maker’s experimental, riskier layer, allowing for innovation, while Maker itself continues focusing on ensuring the stability of the USDS stablecoin and mitigating extreme risks.

Speaking naturally, Spark, the initial and most significant Sky Star lending system, boasts a TVL (Total Value Locked) of approximately $2.529 billion, as per DeFiLlama’s data. This positions it as the third largest lending protocol within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, following Aave and JustLend.

The platform, on its own, holds a total value locked (TVL) amounting to approximately $6.44 billion, not including some specific sub-protocols. This places it among the top four largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols in terms of size.

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2024-08-27 21:27