Name: MakerDAO
Symbol: MKR
Token Type: ERC-20
1. Overview
MakerDAO is a decentralized organization while Maker Protocol is a software platform that allows users to issue and manage the DAI stablecoin.
Maker (MKR) is the governance token of the MakerDAO and Maker Protocol.
Maker Protocol enables over-collateralized loans by locking ETH in a smart contract and minting Dai, a USD-pegged stablecoin. Dai can be traded and used for payments.
MKR is minted & burnt depending on the debt status of MakerDAO. If the financial resources of the protocol cannot cover its debt, new tokens are minted. If there is a surplus, tokens are burned.
To vote on proposals users need to own MKR, or have it delegated to themselves. Then they can create a voting contract and lock MKR tokens in it.
2. Roadmap
December 2017: Official launch of the single collateral Dai
April 2019: The Maker Ecosystem Growth Foundation (MEGF) restructured its board to bring in additional parties.
November 2019: Launch of the Multi-Collateral Dai (MCD)
December 2019: The Maker Foundation handed control of the MKR token contract to the governance community.
February 2020: the Governance Security Module (GSM) delay was changed from 0 to 24 hours. This allows for an emergency shutdown if the MKR governance is corrupted.
3. Use cases
Vaults are created by depositing collateral into a smart contract. This mints a specified amount of Dai - the dollar value of the collateral must be greater than 150% of the value of Dai.
To get back their initial collateral, a user must pay back both withdrawn Dai plus interest on the loan.
Metrics & other data
Website: https://makerdao.com/en/
Token Terminal: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/makerdao
DeFiLlama: https://defillama.com/protocol/makerdao
CoinMarketCap: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/maker