MakerDAO (Sky)
MakerDAO is one of the key participants of today’s DeFi field. Their story kicked off in 2015, with the first introduction of their native stablecoin $DAI.
MakerDAO allows the user to obtain Collateralized Debt Position (CDP) loans, also called Vaults, by minting (generating) DAI against a deposit of ETH (the collateral type can vary, and they are to be decided on by governance).
The amount of assets you deposit as collateral must be over-collateralized in it’s value, with the current minimum coll. ratio of 145%.
For example: By depositing 20 ETH (~$31,064) as your collateral, the Max amount of Debt that you can take out is 21,424 DAI, and that brings you to a coll.ratio of 145%.
But, being that it’s the minimum percentage, you would easily get liquidated so a recommendation would always be to go over 195% coll. ratio which means you would take out only 16,090 DAI against your 31k collateral value, for your position to remain more safe.
All operations inside the protocol are operated automatically by smart contracts.
That implies also on their mechanism of keeping the value of DAI fastened to the value of a dollar by minting and burning DAI when debts are paid back. Maker does not contain any liquidity/supply pools.
When it comes to Oracles and how Maker obtains data and information, it’s good to know that they have their own, and they also posses an OSM (Oracle Security Module) that delays price updates by 1h, reducing the risk of unforeseen crashes.
This is also decided by governance, and can be eligible to change. So it’s advisable to keep track of their updates and news.
Sky
Essentially a rebranding of MakerDAO - Sky isn't a significant paradigm shift in regards to the way that MakerDAO functioned, but rather, improvements of the underlying technical architecture.
The roots of this rebranding can be found within MakerDAO's "Endgame plan" - Which outlines areas of improvement within Maker's governance mechanism.
Starting from the basics, Sky has its own $USDS stablecoin, and can be acquired by redeeming DAI for a 1:1 value ratio. Just like Maker's DSR, Sky has its own SSR (Sky Savings Rate), where users can deposit USDS to earn yield, and on top of that, users receive SKY token rewards. Additionally, MKR token holders can also redeem their MKR for 23,904 SKY (as of April 25th, 2025)
Sky did bring some innovation with it, where one of the most prominent ones is the freeze function. This function allows the protocol to pause or block token transfers under specific conditions, serving as a safety mechanism during critical periods (for example, if a smart contract exploit occurs).
The introduction of Sky did not make MakerDAO obsolete, as users can still borrow DAI, interact with Maker's governance, and in general - continue on with DeFi life without Sky having an impact on their day-to-day.
Sky also introduces Skylink for multichain USDS transfers across Ethereum and Layer 2s, improving accessibility
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Dashboard & Use-case (Maker)
Dashboard & Use-case (Sky)
Available assets & compatibility
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