What is Dai (DAI)?
DAI is a decentralized, dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by the Maker Protocol, which launched its first version in December 2017 and moved to multi-collateral DAI in 2019. MakerDAO rebranded as Sky in 2024 and introduced USDS as an upgraded companion token, but DAI continues to exist on-chain.
- Type
- Decentralized crypto-collateralized stablecoin
- Launched
- 2017
- Consensus
- Secured by Ethereum
- Max supply
- No fixed cap
- Swap network
- Ethereum
- Sector (Messari)
- Stablecoins
How Dai works
New DAI is minted when users lock collateral worth more than the loan in protocol vaults, and positions that become undercollateralized are liquidated. The protocol steers the peg by adjusting borrowing fees and the savings rate, while a peg stability module lets eligible stablecoins be exchanged for DAI at close to one dollar.
What DAI is used for
People hold DAI as a dollar-denominated asset that stays on-chain, and use it for trading, lending, payments and as a stable unit in DeFi. It can also be deposited to earn the protocol's savings rate.
DAI supply
DAI has no fixed supply; it expands when users open vault loans and shrinks when loans are repaid and the DAI is burned.
Before you swap DAI
DAI is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, so moving it later requires ETH for gas. DAI and USDS are separate tokens that convert 1:1 through Sky's official converter, and some exchanges now list only USDS, so check which one your destination accepts.