DAI was born as the bastion of financial decentralization on Ethereum, promising stability detached from the traditional banking system. However, the evolution toward the current model has radically transformed its nature. The protocol now depends on a hybrid infrastructure where centralized assets dictate the operational pace.
It is crucial to note that in 2024, DAI reached a historic record of volume in on-chain transactions. This milestone consolidated its relevance in the market, although it also accelerated the transmutation of original collateral toward assets that are more regulated and linked to the traditional financial system.
According to the Official MakerDAO Whitepaper, the transition toward the “Endgame” plan sought precisely this institutional scale. By introducing real-world assets (RWA), the protocol managed to diversify its income but introduced centralized points of failure that were previously non-existent in the early DeFi ecosystem.
Current figures from 2026 show that U.S. Treasury bonds exceed $1.5 billion in backing for Sky. This figure represents a systemic dependence on the traditional system that redefines what we understand as a stable and sovereign digital currency within the network.
An analysis of Sky architecture details how the infrastructure of the “Stars” or subDAOs manages these collaterals. Unlike 2017, when the backing was exclusively Ether, today capital efficiency is prioritized over absolute resistance to state censorship.
The use of the Peg Stability Module (PSM) with USDC is another determining factor in this market structure. This tool allows 1:1 swaps but ties DAI’s fate directly to Circle, an entity subject to asset-freezing laws by United States authorities.
This reality was evidenced in the risk management report recently published by academics, which analyzes exposure to regulatory attacks. If a jurisdiction decides to intervene in the accounts of RWA custodians, the stablecoin’s parity would face a systemic technical challenge.
The Cost of Institutional Stability
Historically, DAI distinguished itself as “permissionless money.” In 2020, during the “Black Thursday” event, the collateral was mostly crypto-native, which caused extreme liquidity problems. That crisis drove the decision to include centralized assets to smooth out market price volatility.
The contrary view holds that this centralization is a necessary evil for mass adoption and profitability. Without the yield from real-world assets, the Sky Savings Rate (SSR) could not compete with traditional bank interest rates. This would leave DAI as a niche product.
This stance is valid from a financial and growth perspective. The liquidity provided by assets such as cash and bonds allows DAI to maintain its parity much more efficiently than purely algorithmic models. Stability has a price: the sacrifice of financial autonomy.
However, for decentralization purists, this change invalidates the original thesis of the MakerDAO project. The argument is that if DAI can be frozen or intervened through its collateral in USDC or RWA, it offers no real advantage over a CBDC.
To mitigate these risks, the protocol has diversified its custody partners across multiple jurisdictions. Even so, most tokenized financial assets remain under the influence of Western regulators, keeping the threat of direct intervention on treasury funds latent.
Evolution Toward the Sky Ecosystem
MakerDAO’s transformation into Sky has segmented the stablecoin offering. While DAI persists as the legacy option, the new USDS token is designed for institutional integration. The latter includes regulatory compliance features that were previously unthinkable in the original Ethereum ecosystem.
In May 2026, the combined supply of both assets amounts to $13 billion. What is alarming for some is that more than 60% of this value is linked to assets that do not reside natively on the blockchain. This creates a bridge of risk between the digital and the physical.
The stablecoin issuer study indicates that Sky now competes directly with Circle and Tether. By adopting a similar reserve model, the protocol has improved its financial sustainability in exchange for the erosion of the decentralization principle that initially made it famous.
Governance has also undergone changes. SKY holders now vote on parameters involving legal contracts with real-world entities. It is no longer just about adjusting code, but about managing relationships with trusts and asset managers in various parts of the world.
This shift toward the pragmatic suggests that the future of algorithmic governance will be linked to international legal frameworks. DAI’s ability to resist external pressure will depend on how fragmented its network of custodians is and the agility of its subDAOs.
The hypothesis arising from this analysis is that if exposure to real-world assets exceeds 50% of the total collateral in 2027, the protocol will be forced to implement identity verification processes for all its users. Neutrality would be definitively lost under pressure from global regulators.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
