Sky DeFi Project Reconsiders Brand Strategy Amid Community Feedback
The DeFi project Sky, previously MakerDAO, is considering further brand changes in response to community input regarding its recent rebranding efforts.
Overview of Recent Developments
On October 21st, co-founder Rune Christensen put forth a proposal analyzing both the protocol's achievements and the obstacles encountered since the transition from MakerDAO to Sky. It was highlighted by Christensen that the protocol's new stablecoin, USDS, reached over a billion in supply within just two weeks of its launch. This swift growth, fueled by new users, led to a $700 million increase across USDS and DAI since USDS began.
Integration and User Engagement
Beyond USDS's initial success, Christensen noted its integration with prominent DeFi platforms like Aave, Ethena, and Morpho. Additionally, the Sky.money website drew in over 400,000 visitors in its first month. Despite these milestones, significant community backlash has been faced in light of the rebranding.
Revisiting the MakerDAO Brand?
The concerns mainly stem from confusion about the new Sky brand and its token's utility. Loyalty to the MakerDAO brand persists among some users, with preferences leaning toward retaining MKR tokens instead of transitioning to SKY. Christensen acknowledged these issues, suggesting a re-evaluation of branding strategies by presenting three potential paths.
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Retaining Sky Brand: This option considers maintaining the Sky brand, which has gained traction since the rebranding.
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Reverting to Maker Brand: This alternative involves returning to the original Maker brand, emphasizing MKR as the exclusive governance token.
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Hybrid Approach: This proposal retains the Maker name but updates it to reflect recent innovations, including the USDS stablecoin and the StarDAO ecosystem.
Ensuring User Considerations
Christensen stressed that any changes should avoid disadvantaging users or token holders, explaining:
“It is critical that no users or token holders are unfairly treated or have their user experience unexpectedly change – e.g., users that have received SKY Token Rewards should, of course, end up with core protocol tokens, as they expected. Sky.money shouldn’t suddenly change or lose functionality.”
Upcoming Community Decision
A community call is set for Friday, October 25, to discuss and select one of these options. Post-discussion, a detailed proposal known as the “Atlas Edit” will be released on October 28 for further community feedback. If the proposal passes, a formal vote will commence on November 4 to finalize the decision.
