In August 2024, MakerDAO rebranded to Sky and shipped USDS, a parallel stablecoin that upgrades from DAI at a fixed 1:1 rate. DAI did not disappear. Both tokens circulate side by side in 2026, with Sky's converter contract minting USDS from DAI on demand and burning the inverse direction. This guide covers what changed in the rebrand, the lock-mint mechanics of the SkyMoneyConverter, current supply on each token, the peg backing, the SKY governance token that replaces MKR, and why some apps and chains still default to DAI.
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USDS and DAI are both stablecoins issued by Sky (formerly MakerDAO), pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, backed by the same collateral pool. USDS is the upgraded brand launched in August 2024 with a savings rate integration (sUSDS) and SKY governance. DAI is the original 2017 token that remains in circulation and convertible 1:1.
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The practical difference is positioning, not collateral. USDS sits inside the Sky ecosystem with Star allocators, the Sky Savings Rate, and direct SKY governance. DAI continues as a legacy interface, still minted and redeemed through Maker vaults, and still listed on most exchanges. Both share the same surplus buffer and the same collateral set. See sky.money for the official rebrand statement.
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The Sky rebrand launched on August 27, 2024 as the first product release under MakerDAO's Endgame plan. Rune Christensen, Maker's founder, framed it as a fresh brand for a broader stablecoin push, not a shutdown of DAI. The launch introduced four pieces at once: USDS, sUSDS, SKY, and the Sky.money front end.
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The rebrand kept all existing Maker contracts live. DAI vaults remain open. The PSM (peg stability module) for USDC still operates. What changed was the wrapper: USDS holders can opt into Sky Savings Rate yield without redeploying capital, and SKY became the governance token going forward, with MKR convertible at 1:24,000. Coverage of the launch ran on CoinDesk's launch story.
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The DAI to USDS upgrade runs through the SkyMoneyConverter contract, a lock-mint and burn-mint pair that swaps the two tokens at a fixed 1:1 rate with no fee. Users deposit DAI, the contract locks it, and an equal amount of USDS mints to the user's wallet. The reverse direction burns USDS and releases DAI from the lock.
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Because the converter is a smart contract escrow, not a market, slippage is zero and liquidity is effectively infinite at the 1:1 rate. The mechanism is documented in Sky's developer docs. Front ends like sky.money and many wallets expose this conversion as a one-click upgrade. As of Q1 2026, several billion DAI have moved through the converter into USDS, though large pools of DAI remain on chains and venues that have not migrated.
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The table below summarizes the key differences between USDS and DAI as of Q1 2026. Supply figures track from DeFiLlama's USDS page and DeFiLlama's DAI page. Both are reported in the millions of dollars and update daily.

The supply ratio tells the migration story. USDS overtook DAI in total circulating supply during 2025, but DAI still anchors billions of dollars across DeFi pools, lending markets, and L2s where USDS has not yet deployed. Both tokens are interchangeable at par for users who hold either one.
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The peg for both USDS and DAI is maintained by the same collateral system. Sky's vaults accept ETH, staked ETH, real world asset allocations, and USDC through the peg stability module. Whenever DAI or USDS trades above $1, arbitrageurs mint new supply against collateral and sell at a premium. Below $1, vault owners buy back at a discount to close debt.
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As of Q1 2026, Sky's collateral mix is roughly 40 percent real world assets (treasury bills allocated through Star allocators), 35 percent USDC via the PSM, and the balance in ETH, staked ETH, and other crypto collateral. The surplus buffer sits above $80 million, providing a cushion against bad debt. See the live breakdown on makerburn.com for collateral composition and surplus state.
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SKY replaced MKR as the governance token in August 2024. MKR holders can convert to SKY at a fixed 1:24,000 rate through a contract that runs indefinitely. The conversion is one way: SKY is the forward governance asset. Voting power, staking for SubDAOs, and surplus burn flows now route through SKY.
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The 1:24,000 ratio was chosen so SKY trades at a more accessible unit price, in the low single digits rather than MKR's historical thousands. Voting weight is identical on a converted basis. About 70 percent of MKR supply had converted to SKY by the end of 2025, with the remainder held by long inactive wallets. Governance proposals run on vote.sky.money.
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DAI persists because thousands of integrations, audited contracts, and liquidity pools reference its address. Migrating a Curve pool, an Aave market, a Compound listing, or a wallet's hardcoded asset list takes governance time and audit budget on each app. As long as the converter is fixed at 1:1, the cost of forcing migration outweighs the benefit.
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L2s and alternative chains are the longest tail. DAI bridged to Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Gnosis Chain through legacy canonical bridges remains the dominant Sky stablecoin on those networks. Sky has launched native USDS on Ethereum, Base, and Solana, with more chains planned. Until USDS reaches parity coverage, app builders default to whatever has the deepest local liquidity, which is often still DAI.
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For users on Ethereum mainnet, Base, or Solana who want exposure to Sky's savings rate, USDS is the better default because sUSDS yields are integrated natively and the brand reflects active development. For users on L2s, alt-L1s, or inside DeFi protocols that have not added USDS, DAI is the working option and remains redeemable at par.
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The economic exposure is identical. Holding 10,000 DAI and holding 10,000 USDS both represent the same dollar claim on the Sky collateral pool. The choice is logistical: which chain, which app, which yield surface. For more on the savings side, see sUSDS Yield Explained and the related stablecoins guide at stablecoin fundamentals.
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Native USDS is deployed on Ethereum, Base, and Solana as of Q1 2026. Cross chain transfers happen through canonical bridges and through stablecoin specific orchestration. Sky's chain expansion roadmap targets additional EVM L2s in 2026, with each deployment minting USDS directly from the converter rather than through wrapped bridge tokens.
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For users moving USDS or DAI across chains, an orchestration layer that handles route discovery, gas abstraction, and intent settlement removes the need to manually pick a bridge. Eco Routes supports stablecoin transfers across 15 chains with single transaction UX, settling user intents through solver networks. See the Eco platform overview for how stablecoin orchestration replaces hand picked bridges.
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Is DAI being shut down? No. DAI continues to be minted, redeemed, and supported by Sky indefinitely. The SkyMoneyConverter runs both directions at 1:1.
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Can I convert DAI to USDS without a fee? Yes. The SkyMoneyConverter charges no fee for either direction. Network gas applies on the chain where the conversion runs.
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Does sDAI still earn yield? Yes. The DAI Savings Rate remains live alongside the Sky Savings Rate for sUSDS. Both rates are set by Sky governance and can differ.
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What happened to MKR? MKR converts to SKY at 1:24,000 through a permanent conversion contract. Voting and surplus burn flows now run through SKY.
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Which chains have native USDS? Ethereum, Base, and Solana as of Q1 2026, with additional EVM L2 deployments scheduled through 2026.
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Supply figures from DeFiLlama USDS and DeFiLlama DAI, retrieved Q1 2026. Rebrand details from sky.money and Sky developer documentation. Governance and conversion mechanics from vote.sky.money. Collateral and surplus data from makerburn.com. Launch coverage from CoinDesk.
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sUSDS Yield Explained: Sky's Savings Token in 2026
​Stablecoin fundamentals
​Eco stablecoin orchestration platform
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