MakerDAO, a prominent player in Decentralized Finance (DeFi), is gearing up for a major overhaul dubbed “Endgame.” This ambitious plan, spearheaded by co-founder Rune Christensen, aims to transform the platform towards scalable resilience and sustainable user growth.
Christensen announced “launch season” for Endgame on the MakerDAO forum on March 12th. The five-phase plan kicks off in mid-2024 with a rebranding effort. MakerDAO will enlist an external marketing firm to inject a more user-friendly and engaging image into the entire operation.
The ultimate objective of Endgame is to propel MakerDAO’s decentralized stablecoin, Dai, to the forefront of the market. Christensen envisions scaling Dai’s market capitalization from its current $4.5 billion to a staggering “100 billion and beyond,” aiming to rival the dominance of Tether (USDT).
Another key goal is to incentivize user participation by making saving through DeFi “fun.” Endgame plans to achieve this through yield farming opportunities with new tokens issued by semi-autonomous “SubDAO” projects.
Following the rebranding, a token launch phase will introduce two new tokens, currently named “NewStable” and “NewGovToken” until official names are revealed. Existing Maker (MKR) tokens will be redenominated, with each MKR token converting into 24,000 NewGovTokens. Holders of NewStable tokens (excluding US residents) will be eligible to farm an additional 600 million NewGovTokens annually. Christensen emphasizes that these new tokens are “optional upgrades for Dai and MKR with new features.”
The Endgame roadmap continues with the launch of the “Lockstake Engine” (LSE) after the new token launch. This feature allows holders of NewGovTokens and MKR to earn rewards by locking their tokens for a set period. This will be followed by “NewBridge” (final name to be announced), a solution enabling low-cost layer-2 yield farming opportunities.
The final act of Phase 1 is the introduction of SparkDAO, the first SubDAO dedicated specifically to lending functionalities. This aligns with the previously launched Spark Protocol, which debuted in May 2023, offering users the ability to supply and borrow various cryptocurrencies alongside Dai.
Phase 2 focuses on scaling the ecosystem with the creation of more SubDAOs and bridges, contingent on the successful completion of Phase 1, likely occurring in late 2024 or 2025. Phase 3 unveils “NewChain,” a dedicated layer-1 blockchain designed to host the platform’s tokenomics. Finally, Phase 4, dubbed the “Final Endgame,” will see MakerDAO’s core governance structure become immutable, solidifying its long-term vision.
MakerDAO’s “Endgame” signifies a bold move towards DeFi supremacy. With a focus on user experience, innovative tokenomics, and a multi-phased development plan, MakerDAO aims to not only become a dominant player in the DeFi space but to usher in a new era of sustainable and user-friendly decentralized finance.
