• Stablecoins are now popular cryptocurrencies which have now become favourites to some investors due to the high volatility of traditional cryptocurrencies.
• MakerDAO’s Dai, a decentralized stablecoin that is linked to the US Dollar, is on its way to the top with its Maker Collateral Vault system. 
• MakerDAO’s innovation is top-notch as it introduced real estate to DeFi in 2021 and has other developments lined up in its roadmap.
• MakerDao utilizes a perfect community approach to see Dai rise to the top.

Stablecoins were developed to combat the high volatility of traditional cryptocurrencies and are slowly becoming investor favourites. Dai, the stablecoin of the MakerDAO platform, launched in 2017 and has since gone on to become a popular stablecoin backed to the price of the US Dollar.

Most stablecoins are backed by fiat currencies, though some have been backed by precious metals like gold and other assets. Generally, features of the Maker Protocol include Dai Stablecoin, Maker Vaults, Maker Protocol Auctions and more. DAI is the world’s first unbiased currency that can be generated by anyone without discrimination.

What is Maker (MKR)?

MKR, Maker is the decentralized governance token of MakerDAO. MakerDAO is a decentralized organization based on the Ethereum blockchain that gives its users the ability to manage the Dai stablecoin.

MakerDAO has provided a collateralized system that gives people the ability to create Dai stablecoins by depositing collateral into vaults on the platform.

The user must deposit an Ethereum-based asset, that has been approved by the community, into the vault, and the collateral, which is more than the issued Dai, stays in the vault until Dai has been paid out.

Dai is a well sought-after coin due to its utility in the DeFi ecosystem. Dai enables users to access liquidity openly as all Dai transactions can be viewed on the Ethereum blockchain.

Recent Developments

MakerDAO brought many innovations to DeFi which led to its mass adoption, it is now the 25th largest cryptocurrency with more active addresses than Tether. MakerDAO made history by rolling out the first automated crypto lending platform.

MakerDAO has introduced real estate to DeFi by lending against real-world assets like buildings, in a way reminiscent of traditional finance entities like banks.

According to Sébastien Derivaux, a renowned MakerDAO community member, “This is DeFi taking on traditional finance.” The project will finance the renovation of houses in the US, as real estate can now form part of the approved collateral.

On the Flipside

• Dai is rivaled by Tether and other centralized stablecoins, which endeared trust because of the centralized entity behind them.
• The price of MKR, which soared above $4,000 in April, has been struggling, standing at $2,525 amidst the current market crash.

MakerDao’s Community

The community behind MakerDAO is taking it to the top as it is a decentralized stablecoin. Its holders directly participate in the governance process of the coin.

Though every member has voting rights, voting power is dependent on the amount  staked. Generally, members can vote on upgrades to the platform, and potential new collateral asset types to accept into the vault.

Previously, only Ethereum was accepted before the community voted to allow other assets. Members can also vote to change the Dai savings rate.

Members can lock up their Dai in special contracts and earn interest. At the time of writing, MKR has a market capitalization of over $2.5 billion with a circulating supply of 1,005,577 MKR coins.