Maker (MKR): Price Updates, Recent Developments, Future Events, Community

Maker (MKR) is the governance token of the MakerDAO and Maker Protocol that allows users to issue and manage the DAI stablecoin.

  • Maker (MKR) is the native token of MakerDAO’s Dai, a decentralized stablecoin using a unique ‘Maker Collateral Vault’ system.
  • In pushing to be used to finance off-chain business activities, Maker vaults were used to finance a shipment of Australian beef to Hong Kong.
  • For the transaction, Maker Protocol partnered with Centrifuge and ConsolFreight, minting an NFT of the manifest.
  • On the back of the TerraUSD (UST) crash, MKR has rallied 30% in 24 hours, making DAI the fourth biggest stablecoin.

Maker (MKR) is the governance token of the MakerDAO and Maker Protocol, which allows users to issue and manage the DAI stablecoin.

Maker Protocol uses Maker Vaults, enabling users to deposit their crypto as collateral and mint Dai against it. Users with Vaults can then repay their Dai loan to redeem their collateral.

As Terra (LUNA) collapsed, dragging the crypto market with it, Maker (MKR) was one of the few cryptos to continue trading in the green. So, what was responsible for keeping Maker out of the red sea?

Recent Developments

One of Maker’s biggest goals is to finance off-chain business activities, something in which it has been steadily making strides. On May 9th, Maker announced that one of its vaults was used to finance a shipment of Australian beef to Hong Kong.

Sponsored

According to the announcement, the transaction was executed in partnership with Centrifuge – a protocol that allows users to finance real-world business activities with DAI.

ConsolFreight, a trade finance provider operating on Centrifuge, was also involved in the transaction, financing it by minting DAI via Centrifuge’s Maker vault.

Sponsored

While this marks growth in its real-world utility, the true driving force behind Maker’s upward price trajectory is the fact that its main rival, Terra (LUNA), is on the edge of collapse. Unlike TerraUST, which moves in sync with LUNA, Maker uses a system of overcollateralized vaults.

The Maker Protocol explains that it is for users who deposit 10 ETH in a vault. These users can only mint the DAI stablecoin equivalent of 5ETH (200% collateralization). Maker explains that if collateralization falls from 200 to 145% (in the event that the price of ETH drops), their vaults are liquidated, after which:

Maker Protocol pays off Dai loans and closes Vaults to protect its collateral during a bear market. This infrastructure has kept the price of the DAI stablecoin truly stable, comparison to the methods employed by TerraUSD.

Future Events

Recently, Instadapp released Dai Vault integration to its ‘Lite’ version, allowing users to start earning up to 5.7% APY on their Dai investments.

Maker will host its first Twitter Space on Friday, May 13th, at 16:00 UTC to enlighten its community. The Instadapp team will also be involved, and will talk about their product and the integrations with the Maker Protocol and Dai.

Price Updates

Despite the week-long downtrend experienced by the market at large, Maker (MKR) has been one of the few cryptos that remained in the green. In the last 24 hours, MKR has gained 30% in value, and is up by much as 48% in the last 48 hours.

The 1 day price chart for Maker (MKR). Source: CoinMarketCap

Maker is the only crypto in the top 100 to post gains in the last week. Maker (MKR) is up by 10% for the last seven days, while market leaders like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Binance Coin (BNB) are down by ∼20% or more.

The 7 day price chart for Maker (MKR). Source: CoinMarketCap

After hitting an interday high of $1,747.71, Maker is trading at $1,460, as of this writing. Maker is now ranked as the 43rd largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $1.43 billion.

On the Flipside

  • However, DAI, a five-year-old stablecoin, has seemingly outlived UST, which was only launched in September 2020.

Community

As a decentralized stablecoin, the community behind Maker is taking it to the top. Its holders directly participate in the governance process of the coin, and voting power is dependent on inidividual commitment to the project, based on the amounts staked.

With the crash of UST, the Maker Protocol community has found renewed belief that their stablecoin outclasses others. Twitter user @UncleRewards wrote:

In a thread discussing the fundamental reason for the UST crash, and comparing it to Maker’s protocol, Sonystinha Isentão shared:

Bullish about the future of MKR, @cryptolife_shop wrote:

Why You Should Care

The over-collateralization structure adopted by the Maker Protocol ensures that there is always enough liquidity to cover the minted DAI token, Thereby preventing the de-pegging and collapse of its stablecoin, as has happened to TerraUSD.

This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
Milko Trajcevski

Milko Trajcevski is a DailyCoin news reporter, mainly focused on Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), and their founders (Vitalik Buterin and Charles Hoskinson). Milko is an avid follower of crypto and blockchain technology and has written thousands of articles on the subjects. He finds joy in transforming complex issues into written content that anyone can understand. Milko has used and analyzed numerous exchanges, such as Coinbase, FTX, and Binance. He also closely follows all of the latest news around the largest decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Location: Skopje, Macedonia