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Sky

SKY
DeFi Tokens

The governance token of Sky Protocol — the 2024 rebrand of MakerDAO, one of DeFi's oldest and largest decentralized stablecoin systems.

Beginner
4 min readUpdated October 2026Block Clarity Hub Editorial Team
$0.065745-3.83%
Updated 2026-10-27 15:57 UTC

Overview

Sky is the governance token of Sky Protocol, the rebranded and restructured successor to MakerDAO — one of the oldest and most important protocols in decentralized finance. MakerDAO launched in 2015 and pioneered the decentralized, over-collateralized stablecoin with DAI, a token soft-pegged to the US dollar and backed by crypto collateral locked in smart contracts. In August 2024, following founder Rune Christensen's multi-year 'Endgame' plan, MakerDAO rebranded to Sky and introduced a new stablecoin, USDS (the 'Sky Dollar'), alongside a new governance token, SKY, intended to sit beside — and eventually succeed — DAI and MKR.

As of October 2026, SKY has been voted in as the sole governance token of the Sky Protocol, and Sky's upgrade page says it is not possible to convert SKY back to MKR via the protocol. MKR holders who have not upgraded can still do so at a base rate of 1 MKR to 24,000 SKY, but since 22 September 2025 a Delayed Upgrade Penalty has reduced the SKY received per MKR upgraded: it started at 1% and rises by one percentage point every three months. Holders can also convert DAI to USDS at 1:1, while the original DAI remains fully usable. SKY holders govern the protocol — voting on which assets can be used as collateral, on risk parameters, and on the Sky Savings Rate, the yield paid to users who hold USDS in the protocol's savings module. The Endgame plan also spins specialized sub-projects, called 'Sky Stars', out of the core protocol; the first was the Spark lending protocol.

Uptake of the token upgrade has been gradual — a large share of MKR stayed unconverted in the months after launch — and both the legacy Maker tokens and the new Sky tokens continue to circulate side by side. Whether measured as Maker or Sky, the system remains one of the largest decentralized stablecoin issuers in crypto.

Why It Matters

Maker/Sky operates one of the largest and most battle-tested decentralized stablecoin systems, and DAI/USDS is a cornerstone of DeFi collateral and liquidity. The transition to Sky is also one of the most ambitious governance and rebranding efforts in crypto — an attempt to restructure a multi-billion-dollar protocol into a modular ecosystem of semi-independent units while preserving its stablecoin's peg and decentralization.

How It Works

The basics

Users lock collateral — crypto assets, and increasingly tokenized real-world assets — in the protocol's smart contracts and mint the stablecoin (DAI or USDS) against it, keeping a required level of over-collateralization. If collateral value falls too far, the position is liquidated so the stablecoin stays fully backed.

Going deeper

Governance tunes stability fees and the savings rate. SKY, which inherits the governance rights previously held by legacy MKR, is the governance and recapitalization token: holders vote on parameters, and the token can be minted or burned as a backstop if the system ever becomes under-collateralized.

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Runs a proven, decentralized, over-collateralized stablecoin (DAI/USDS) that is central to DeFi
  • Long track record since 2015 with transparent, fully on-chain governance
  • The Sky Savings Rate offers native, protocol-level yield on the stablecoin
  • The modular 'Endgame' structure aims to scale governance across semi-independent units
  • Deep integration across DeFi as collateral and a unit of account
Cons
  • The rebrand added complexity and a confusing dual-token (MKR/SKY, DAI/USDS) transition with slow uptake
  • Governance-token holders bear dilution risk if the system must recapitalize after bad debt
  • Growing reliance on real-world-asset and centralized-stablecoin collateral raises centralization and regulatory questions
  • Stablecoin issuers face increasing regulatory scrutiny worldwide
  • Two parallel token systems circulating at once can confuse users and fragment liquidity

Use Cases

  • Governing Sky Protocol — collateral types, risk parameters, and the savings rate
  • Minting the USDS or DAI stablecoin against deposited collateral
  • Earning the Sky Savings Rate by holding USDS in the savings module
  • Upgrading legacy MKR to SKY to participate in the new system

Price Chart

Historical USD price from CoinGecko. Educational reference — not investment advice.

Live Market Data

Price change
1h
+0.12%
24h
-3.83%
7d
-10.85%
30d
-14.13%
Market Cap Rank
#62
Market Cap
$1.54B
24h Volume
$13.85M
Fully Diluted Val
$1.54B
All-Time High
$0.10087-34.82%October 2026
All-Time Low
$0.035827February 2025
24h Range
$0.064057 – $0.068589
Circulating Supply23.43B / 23.46B
99.9% of max supply in circulation

Market data from CoinGecko, refreshed every 15 minutes. Educational reference only — not investment advice.

Project Health

TVL (DefiLlama)
$5.68B
Ethereum

Dev activity via CoinGecko, TVL/audit status via DefiLlama; official links are the project’s own. Presence here is not an endorsement.

Holder Distribution

On-chain holders (Ethereum mainnet)
16,208
Top 5 addresses hold
85.9%
of supply
LockstakeEngine0xCe01…A6a3contract43.9%
Chief0x929d…a6f9contract30.5%
Sky: MKR to SKY Converter0xA1Ea…3f9acontract8.8%
0xbaF2…18971.6%
Binance: Hot Wallet0x5a52…Efcb1.1%

Top holders often include protocol, bridge, exchange, and staking contracts — not individual investors.

Source: Blockscout, as of Oct 5, 2026. View all holders on Blockscout

Where SKY trades

The most active markets for SKY by 24h volume. Informational only — these are not affiliate links or endorsements.

ExchangePairPrice24h Volume
BinanceSKY/USDT$0.065936$3.18M
ToobitSKY/USDT$0.065926$971,790
Uniswap V2 (Ethereum)0XDC035D45D973E3EC169D2276DDAB16F1E407384F/0X56072C95FAA701256059AA122697B133ADED9279$0.065916$774,495
BybitSKY/USDT$0.065916$767,552
Uniswap V4 (Ethereum)0X56072C95FAA701256059AA122697B133ADED9279/0XA0B86991C6218B36C1D19D4A2E9EB0CE3606EB48$0.065522$747,926
PhemexSKY/USDT$0.065985$703,342
Uniswap V3 (Ethereum)0X56072C95FAA701256059AA122697B133ADED9279/0XC02AAA39B223FE8D0A0E5C4F27EAD9083C756CC2$0.065916$684,201
CoinWSKY/USDT$0.065856$596,455

Data via CoinGecko. Always verify you are on an exchange’s official domain before trading.

Latest Sky news

Headlines via crypto news RSS

Headlines link to third-party publishers and are not endorsements or investment advice.

Technical Details

Launch Year
2024
Founder
Rune Christensen
Max Supply
23462665147
Blockchain
Ethereum (ERC-20)
Website
sky.money/

Frequently asked questions

What is Sky (SKY)?

Sky is the governance token of Sky Protocol, the rebranded and restructured successor to MakerDAO — one of the oldest and most important protocols in decentralized finance. MakerDAO launched in 2015 and pioneered the decentralized, over-collateralized stablecoin with DAI, a token soft-pegged to the US dollar and backed by crypto collateral locked in smart contracts. In August 2024, following founder Rune Christensen's multi-year 'Endgame' plan, MakerDAO rebranded to Sky and introduced a new stablecoin, USDS (the 'Sky Dollar'), alongside a new governance token, SKY, intended to sit beside — and eventually succeed — DAI and MKR. As of October 2026, SKY has been voted in as the sole governance token of the Sky Protocol, and Sky's upgrade page says it is not possible to convert SKY back to MKR via the protocol. MKR holders who have not upgraded can still do so at a base rate of 1 MKR to 24,000 SKY, but since 22 September 2025 a Delayed Upgrade Penalty has reduced the SKY received per MKR upgraded: it started at 1% and rises by one percentage point every three months. Holders can also convert DAI to USDS at 1:1, while the original DAI remains fully usable. SKY holders govern the protocol — voting on which assets can be used as collateral, on risk parameters, and on the Sky Savings Rate, the yield paid to users who hold USDS in the protocol's savings module. The Endgame plan also spins specialized sub-projects, called 'Sky Stars', out of the core protocol; the first was the Spark lending protocol. Uptake of the token upgrade has been gradual — a large share of MKR stayed unconverted in the months after launch — and both the legacy Maker tokens and the new Sky tokens continue to circulate side by side. Whether measured as Maker or Sky, the system remains one of the largest decentralized stablecoin issuers in crypto.

What is Sky used for?

Maker/Sky operates one of the largest and most battle-tested decentralized stablecoin systems, and DAI/USDS is a cornerstone of DeFi collateral and liquidity. The transition to Sky is also one of the most ambitious governance and rebranding efforts in crypto — an attempt to restructure a multi-billion-dollar protocol into a modular ecosystem of semi-independent units while preserving its stablecoin's peg and decentralization.

How does Sky work?

Users lock collateral — crypto assets, and increasingly tokenized real-world assets — in the protocol's smart contracts and mint the stablecoin (DAI or USDS) against it, keeping a required level of over-collateralization. If collateral value falls too far, the position is liquidated so the stablecoin stays fully backed.

What are the pros and cons of Sky?

Pros: Runs a proven, decentralized, over-collateralized stablecoin (DAI/USDS) that is central to DeFi; Long track record since 2015 with transparent, fully on-chain governance; The Sky Savings Rate offers native, protocol-level yield on the stablecoin; The modular 'Endgame' structure aims to scale governance across semi-independent units; Deep integration across DeFi as collateral and a unit of account. Cons: The rebrand added complexity and a confusing dual-token (MKR/SKY, DAI/USDS) transition with slow uptake; Governance-token holders bear dilution risk if the system must recapitalize after bad debt; Growing reliance on real-world-asset and centralized-stablecoin collateral raises centralization and regulatory questions; Stablecoin issuers face increasing regulatory scrutiny worldwide; Two parallel token systems circulating at once can confuse users and fragment liquidity.

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