Sky Retains Brand Identity in Favor of MakerDAO Following Community Vote
The DeFi project Sky has made the decision to keep its new brand identity instead of reverting back to MakerDAO after a recent community vote. The polling data revealed that an overwhelming 79.3% of voters supported maintaining the Sky brand as the core protocol name. Only about 18.46% backed a “limited brand refresh” under MakerDAO, while a mere 2.2% preferred a full reversion to the MakerDAO branding.
In a statement released on Nov. 7, the team behind Sky expressed that this decision paves a clear path forward for the ecosystem. The vote signifies a transition from MKR to SKY and designates Sky as the primary brand for both the frontend app and backend protocol.
Co-founder of Sky, Rune Christensen, expressed his excitement about moving forward with the new brand. He highlighted that Sky will continue to be the brand for the backend protocol powering USDS, the stablecoin with access to native token rewards and savings rate.
Centralization Concerns Arise
Despite the broad support for retaining the Sky brand, concerns over centralized voting influence have been raised within the community. The polling data revealed that only around 20 participants cast their votes, with four large entities controlling about 80% of the vote share. This concentration of voting power among a few entities raises concerns about centralization within DAOs.
Venture capitalist Mike Dudas pointed out that five large entities accounted for 80% of the MakerDAO vote, highlighting the challenges that DAOs face in maintaining fair governance under such conditions. The issue of centralization in DAOs has been a recurring theme, with a research paper from 2023 outlining how low voter participation can lead to control being concentrated in the hands of large token holders.
Looking Towards the Future
With the decision to retain the Sky brand, Christensen outlined several upcoming goals for the ecosystem. These include expanding the adoption of USDS by launching Solana and Ethereum Layer 2 solutions. Plans are also in place to migrate MKR to SKY on centralized exchanges and update listings on platforms like CoinGecko.
Moreover, Sky is preparing to launch Spark, its first major project under the new brand, offering SPK token rewards for USDS holders. Christensen also mentioned that a proposal draft is in the works to make SKY a deflationary token and define tokenomics for Spark. These steps align with Sky’s vision of long-term sustainability and strong community engagement.
In conclusion, the decision to retain the Sky brand has set the stage for the future growth and development of the ecosystem. With a focus on expanding adoption, launching new projects, and ensuring fair governance, Sky is poised to make a significant impact in the DeFi space.
