Altcoin
As whales rally around DAI, what does MakerDAO’s future hold?
Amidst soaring DAI supply and promising revenue, MakerDAO’s MKR navigates challenges with declining network growth and falling velocity.
- DAI’s surging popularity attracted influential whales.
- Robust growth seen in DAI issuance; revenue generated by the protocol rose as well.
The cryptocurrency landscape has been no stranger to swift shifts, with MakerDAO [MKR]’s DAI taking center stage with remarkable growth in recent months. As the stablecoin’s popularity soared, DAI managed to outpace Binance USD [BUSD] in market capitalization over the last month, hinting at its potential for further expansion.
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This escalating trajectory could be attributed to a surge in whale activity revolving around DAI, with notable figures influencing its course.
Whales abound
Justin Sun, for instance, minted a staggering 77.8M DAI, collateralized with 102,462 stETH, and deposited the amassed DAI into the MakerDAO ecosystem. Another influential whale withdrew 10M DAI from MakerDAO, swiftly investing in 5,403 stETH at an average price of $1,851.
Justin Sun minted 77.8M $DAI with 102,462 $stETH ($190M) and deposited the 77.8M $DAI into #Maker.
At 8% APY, he'll earn $6.22M a year later and $17K per day.https://t.co/VbqAnBqojA pic.twitter.com/TrpbnzqmbT
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) August 10, 2023
As DAI’s supply skyrocketed beyond 5 billion, the stablecoin reinforced its position as a dominant force in the crypto realm, primed for further advances. This heightened issuance could also lead to greater utilization of DAI in DeFi protocols and beyond, fostering a broader impact on the ecosystem.
A new spark
The Spark Protocol, integrated within MakerDAO, also demonstrated swift growth, witnessing users borrowing over 49 million DAI. This substantial 248% surge in DAI borrowing underscored the protocol’s traction and suggested rising demand for DAI-related DeFi services.
Spark Protocol's growth has been outstanding.
In just 24 hours, users borrowed more than 49 million DAI.
This represents a +248% surge in DAI borrowings. pic.twitter.com/AxiO3FVovB
— Maker (@MakerDAO) August 7, 2023
Favorable indicators for MakerDAO continued, with a surge in revenue and code commits. According to Token Terminal’s data, revenue escalated by a striking 187% within the past week, while code commits soared by an impressive 91.4%.
This robust development activity echoes a bright outlook for the protocol and reaffirms the community’s commitment to innovation.
Realistic or not, here’s MKR’s market cap in BTC’s terms
However, certain metrics raised caution for MakerDAO’s native token. Network growth dwindled, and MKR’s velocity exhibited a decline, signaling a potential wane in new addresses’ engagement and the token’s trading frequency.
Yet, amid these nuanced dynamics, MKR remained on an upward trajectory. Additionally, the market capitalization of DAI experienced a significant surge in recent days, further enhancing MakerDAO’s position within the DeFi landscape.
Source: Santiment
