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Editorial policyRead MakerDAO to understand DAI and the original CDP. For new dollars and the savings rate, use Sky Protocol (USDS, sUSDS, SKY). Skip Maker as a live how-to if you wanted today’s Sky UI at sky.money. Educational research, not financial advice.
MakerDAO is the original ETH-backed CDP that issued DAI. Verdict-first guide on when this page is history and when you should read Sky Protocol for USDS and sUSDS instead.
Market context
DeFiLlamaSkip this page if you wanted a current Sky how-to — that is /article/sky-protocol/. Skip both if you wanted USDC. DAI still exists; the live product names are shifting. Do not mint based on a 2018 mental model without reading Sky’s current parameters.
Related comparisons
Use this page to understand DAI and why Maker mattered. Use Sky Protocol for USDS, sUSDS and current governance (SKY). Skip both if you wanted a fiat-backed coin. A rebrand does not delete smart-contract or collateral risk, and 2019 lore is not a live rate.
Live TVL sits on DeFiLlama. Our rankings table was stamped 2026-08-27. TVL is assets locked — not a safety score and not a reason to deposit.
Maker let users lock collateral in a vault and mint DAI, a crypto-backed dollar. Stability fees and liquidation ratios were governance parameters. That CDP idea is the ancestor of Sky, Spark, and a long list of forks. Historical MKR votes are not a live rate sheet.
| Then | Now | Read |
|---|---|---|
| DAI | Still exists; USDS for new products | DAI + Sky pages |
| MKR | SKY migration | Sky page |
| DSR | Sky Savings Rate / sUSDS | Sky page |
| Maker vault | Sky/Spark surfaces | Sky + Spark |
Aave to supply or borrow listed assets at variable rates. Sky for the Maker-line dollar and savings rate today. This Maker page so you do not confuse 2019 DAI lore with 2026 USDS. SparkLend is Sky’s lending SubDAO — not Aave and not a reason to mint from a frozen mental model.
| Want | Use | Skip this Maker page when |
|---|---|---|
| Live USDS / sUSDS | Sky Protocol | You needed history only |
| Variable lending | Aave | You wanted Sky savings |
| Issuer dollar | USDC | You wanted DAI lore |
Collateral crashes, liquidation, and governance parameter risk — the same family as any CDP. Black Thursday 2020 is the historical lesson. Current parameters live on Sky’s docs, not in a frozen paragraph here. A rebrand does not delete those failure modes.
For live dollars and the savings rate, use sky.money and our Sky Protocol article. This Maker page is the history and the fork in the road. Do not mint from a 2018 mental model without reading Sky’s current parameters. USDC remains the issuer-dollar alternative.
Convex, Curve, Resupply, Inverse Finance and Frax share collateral, gauges and stablecoin rails. Read the flywheel first if you are new to the stack.
FAQ
The original DAI CDP protocol, rebranding to Sky. Current site: sky.money. DAI still exists; new products are documented as USDS. This page is history plus the fork, not a live rate sheet.
Read Sky’s current docs. This page is the history and the fork in the road. We do not recommend minting either. Parameters move with governance.
No. DAI is crypto-collateral governance money. USDC is an issuer coin with a redemption desk. Peg and failure modes differ.
No. Educational research only. We do not recommend MKR, SKY, or minting DAI.
Sky is MakerDAO’s Endgame name: USDS, the Sky Savings Rate (sUSDS), SKY governance, and SparkLend. Verdict-first guide on what changed from DAI and who should still read the Maker page.
DAI is a decentralized stablecoin created by MakerDAO, backed by on-chain cryptocurrency collateral through an over-collateralized model that maintains a 1:1 peg to the US dollar.
Aave is the default multi-chain DeFi lending market. V4 (Ethereum, 30 March 2026) uses a Hub for liquidity and Spokes for the market you actually click. Supply for a variable rate, or borrow and watch health factor — including V4’s target-health-factor liquidations.