Sky is the rebranded, upgraded version of MakerDAO. SKY is its governance token, the successor to MKR, and USDS is its dollar-pegged stablecoin, the successor to DAI. The system still works the same way: people lock up collateral to mint USDS.

What is the difference between SKY and USDS?

They are two tokens with two jobs. USDS is the stablecoin meant to stay near US$1, the thing you spend or save. SKY is the governance token: you hold it to vote on the rules, and you can stake it in the Staking Engine to earn rewards.

What happened to my MKR and DAI?

They can be upgraded. 1 MKR converts into 24,000 SKY at a fixed rate, and DAI converts into USDS one-for-one. DAI still works alongside USDS during the migration, but a penalty that grows over time was added in 2025 to nudge the last MKR holders to switch.

Does SKY have a fixed supply like Bitcoin?

No. Bitcoin freezes at 21 million coins, but SKY does not have that kind of hard cap. There are roughly 23 billion SKY, a number set by the 1 MKR to 24,000 SKY conversion and managed by the protocol's governance, not by a fixed mining schedule.

SKY is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and is listed on most major exchanges. You can also get it through Sky.money, the protocol's own gateway, or by upgrading old MKR at 1 MKR to 24,000 SKY. (Information only, not advice to use any particular exchange or to invest.)

No.193

📒 Codex Mcap · MakerDAO, reborn

Sky SKY

MakerDAO reborn

🎭 a money-smith with a new sign over the same old forge, still hammering dollar-pegged USDS out of pooled collateral

💵 Stablecoin📜 Smart Contract

ALTROOKIE CODEX

💬 “I am not a new coin. I am MakerDAO under a new name. The old skin was MKR and DAI; the new skin is SKY and USDS. Same forge, same vaults, simpler tokens. Bring collateral, leave with dollars.”

💬 TL;DR

Sky = MakerDAO, rebranded. Rune Christensen unveiled it in August 2024; the official rebrand landed September 18, 2024.
Two tokens: SKY for voting and staking, USDS the dollar-pegged stablecoin minted from collateral.
Migration: 1 MKR → 24,000 SKY; 1 DAI → 1 USDS. The old tokens still work during the swap.
Lives on Ethereum as an ERC-20 token. There is no Bitcoin-style hard cap, around 23 billion SKY, set by governance.

📖 The Story

August 2024. Rune Christensen, the co-founder who built MakerDAO years earlier, stepped on stage and showed off something that looked brand new but was really his own project wearing a fresh coat of paint. He called it Sky. On September 18, 2024, MakerDAO officially became Sky Protocol.

The point of the change was plain. MakerDAO had grown into a tangle that newcomers found hard to read. Two of its most confusing pieces were its own tokens: MKR, the governance coin, traded for thousands of dollars each, and DAI, the stablecoin. Sky split them into cleaner, friendlier versions. MKR became SKY, the new governance token. DAI got a sibling, USDS, the new dollar-pegged stablecoin.

This was not a fresh start so much as a planned upgrade. The rebrand is Phase 1 of a long roadmap called Endgame, which reshapes the old DAO into a network of smaller, semi-independent teams renamed Sky Stars. By around May 2025 the Endgame transition was reported complete and the old MKR token was retired, with SKY taking over as the governance asset.

Picture a smith who tore the rusty old sign off the workshop and hung up a clean new one. Inside, the forge still burns and still does the one job it always has: turn locked-up collateral into dollars that hold their value.

📊 Stats

🏛️DeFi standing Among the largest protocols

💵Stablecoin role USDS, pegged near $1

🗳️Governance SKY votes on the rules

🧩Beginner-friendly Two tokens, a lot of moving parts

💎Scarcity No hard cap (~23B SKY)

🧩 How it works

The core idea is the same one MakerDAO pioneered. You lock up something valuable, crypto and even real-world assets, as collateral. In return the system lets you mint USDS, a token built to stay near US$1. The collateral sitting behind it is what keeps that promise honest. It is a loop, not a one-way street: pay the USDS back later and you unlock your collateral again. The whole thing runs on Ethereum through smart contracts, with SKY as an ERC-20 token.

🔒 Lock collateral → 🏭 mint 💵 USDS pegged near $1 → repay it later to 🔓 get your collateral back. 🗳️ Holding SKY lets you vote on the rules above the vault.

SKY plays a different role. It is the governance token: hold it and you can vote on the protocol's rules, and you can stake it in the Staking Engine to earn rewards.

🌗 Light & Shadow

🌕 Light

Not a startup with a whitepaper, but a proven engine. The MakerDAO machine behind it has been minting a dollar stablecoin for years
One of the larger DeFi protocols by the value locked inside it, and USDS is a sizeable stablecoin in its own right
Backed by a real mix of collateral, including real-world assets, rather than nothing at all (though backing always needs to actually hold up)

🌑 Shadow

Two tokens, a savings rate, a staking engine, SubDAOs. For a beginner it is a lot to keep straight, far busier than a single coin
A stablecoin is only as safe as its collateral. If the assets behind USDS fall hard or fail, the $1 peg can wobble
No fixed cap like Bitcoin. With around 23 billion SKY governed by the protocol, scarcity is not part of the pitch (this is a working system, not digital gold)

🧬 Evolution lineage

Sky is not a hard fork. It is a direct rebrand and upgrade of MakerDAO: SKY succeeds the MKR governance token, and USDS succeeds the DAI stablecoin (1 MKR → 24,000 SKY; DAI → USDS one-for-one). DAI is now a sibling of USDS and still co-exists during the migration.

🏛️ MakerDAO (MKR · DAI) 🛠️ Sky (SKY · USDS)

🧭 Meet other friends

◈ DAI Ξ Ethereum

See the whole codex →

❓ FAQ

What is Sky (SKY)?: Sky is the rebranded, upgraded version of MakerDAO. SKY is its governance token, the successor to MKR, and USDS is its dollar-pegged stablecoin, the successor to DAI. The system still works the same way: people lock up collateral to mint USDS.
What is the difference between SKY and USDS?: They are two tokens with two jobs. USDS is the stablecoin meant to stay near US$1, the thing you spend or save. SKY is the governance token: you hold it to vote on the rules, and you can stake it in the Staking Engine to earn rewards.
What happened to my MKR and DAI?: They can be upgraded. 1 MKR converts into 24,000 SKY at a fixed rate, and DAI converts into USDS one-for-one. DAI still works alongside USDS during the migration, but a penalty that grows over time was added in 2025 to nudge the last MKR holders to switch.
Does SKY have a fixed supply like Bitcoin?: No. Bitcoin freezes at 21 million coins, but SKY does not have that kind of hard cap. There are roughly 23 billion SKY, a number set by the 1 MKR to 24,000 SKY conversion and managed by the protocol's governance, not by a fixed mining schedule.
Where can I buy SKY?: SKY is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and is listed on most major exchanges. You can also get it through Sky.money, the protocol's own gateway, or by upgrading old MKR at 1 MKR to 24,000 SKY. (Information only, not advice to use any particular exchange or to invest.)

⚠️ Not investment advice. All figures are for information only