In a groundbreaking development for the decentralized finance (DeFi) world, Rune Christensen, co-founder of MakerDAO, has proposed a bold vision for the project’s future. Christensen revealed in a recent governance forum post that MakerDAO, a titan in the DeFi lending space and issuer of the $5 billion DAI stablecoin, is contemplating a seismic shift. The proposal centers on constructing a native blockchain for MakerDAO, and what sets this plan apart is the choice of technology underpinning it: Solana (SOL).
MakerDAO’s Ambitious Transformation and the Solana Connection
Undergoing a major transformation known as “Endgame,” MakerDAO is poised to redefine the landscape of decentralized finance. This ambitious overhaul includes restructuring the project into smaller, independent entities known as SubDAOs, each with its tokens. Furthermore, MakerDAO aims to revamp its governance token, MKR, and the DAI stablecoin. However, the pièce de résistance of this grand transformation is the unveiling of a bespoke blockchain, currently codenamed NewChain. The objective is to connect all SubDAOs and fortify the ecosystem against governance attacks and technical failures. Rune Christensen elucidated that this endeavor represents a substantial long-term commitment, with a projected timeline of at least three years.
In this seismic shift, MakerDAO has set its sights on Solana’s codebase, citing its technical prowess, resilience demonstrated during the FTX incident, and the presence of functional examples as compelling reasons for the choice. The implications of this decision extend beyond MakerDAO, potentially marking a symbolic victory for Solana’s ecosystem, which has weathered challenges, including the collapse of FTX and the associated fallout of Sam Bankman-Fried, one of the network’s prominent supporters and investors.
Christensen’s proposal has not gone unnoticed, with Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, expressing astonishment and enthusiasm. In a social media post, he remarked, “I am honestly speechless. The more code reuse we have across all ecosystems, the faster everything grows.”
However, as with any significant paradigm shift, there are voices of dissent within the MakerDAO community. Some members have raised questions and offered alternative suggestions. Notably, prominent crypto researcher Hasu queried, “Solana and Cosmos are the only options? What about an EVM-based rollup?” Meanwhile, a long-time community member, Tosh9.0, pondered, “If Coinbase can deploy its chain on a layer 2 (BASE), why not Maker?”
The convergence of MakerDAO and Solana represents a fascinating nexus of innovation and collaboration within the ever-evolving DeFi landscape. As the DeFi ecosystem continues to mature, the outcome of this venture will undoubtedly be closely watched, as it has the potential to reshape the future of decentralized finance.
