MakerDAO Contemplates Dropping Sky Brand as Community Debates

MakerDAO is contemplating dropping the Sky brand after a lukewarm reception to the re-brand and a successful launch of the USDS stablecoin.

The USDS stablecoin, launched in August, is designed to offer native token rewards and operate alongside the existing DAI synthetic stablecoin, which remains unchanged. On-chain data shows it has a supply of $1.2 billion and offers a savings rate of 6.5%, with a general agreement amongst community members that the launch was successful.

“It is also now more clear than ever just how much the DeFi community loves and trusts the Maker brand,” Sky co-founder Rune Christensen wrote on its governance forum. “There was a lot of affinity for the brand and what it stands for: stability, security, and DeFi scale. And there is a lot of commitment to holding the MKR token versus upgrading to SKY.”

Christensen wrote that three proposals are being considered to address community concerns: continue with Sky as the core brand to build on its recent momentum, recenter the Maker brand with its original identity and reinstate MKR as the sole governance token, or bring Maker back with a refreshed brand that aligns with the current ecosystem while maintaining its established trust and stability.

Several contributors have pointed out that the introduction of the SKY token, which replaced MKR as the core governance token under the Sky ecosystem, has not delivered the anticipated growth.

In the last two weeks, SKY is down 23% while the CoinDesk 20, an index fund that measures the performance of the largest digital assets, is up 10%. MKR, the governance token, is down 24% on-year according to CoinDesk data.

The controversial “freeze function,” introduced to ensure regulatory compliance, has also been criticized for its lack of clear utility and potential long-term risks.

With 13.79 million DAI and 9,535 MKR (approximately $25 million in total) spent on the rebrand, Christensen said MakerDAO will host a community call to gather feedback about the re-brand, then the platform will conduct a formal governance poll on November 4 to determine its next steps.