What Is Dai?

Dai (DAI) is a decentralized stablecoin soft-pegged to the US dollar, originally issued by MakerDAO and now part of the Sky ecosystem. Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDT or USDC, Dai is generated by users who lock crypto collateral into smart contracts on Ethereum and mint Dai against it. This makes Dai one of the few stablecoins that does not depend on a single company holding bank reserves to maintain its peg.

Overview - Table of Contents
What Is Dai?
Getting Started With Dai
How To Get A Dai Wallet?
Dai Resources
How To Buy Dai?
Latest Dai News

Dai was created by Rune Christensen and the MakerDAO team. The original single-collateral version, often called Sai in retrospect, launched in December 2017 and accepted only ETH as collateral. Multi-collateral Dai launched in November 2019, expanding the system to accept additional crypto assets and stablecoins as backing. Over time, the collateral mix has included ETH, wBTC, USDC, real-world assets through tokenized Treasury vaults, and other approved tokens, with parameters managed by MKR governance and now SKY governance under the broader Sky brand.

The mechanics work through Maker Vaults (formerly called CDPs, Collateralized Debt Positions). A user deposits collateral, opens a vault, and mints Dai against it up to a chain-specific collateralization ratio. As long as the value of the collateral remains above the required ratio, the vault is healthy and the user can continue to use the minted Dai. If the collateral price falls and the ratio is breached, the vault is liquidated by automated keepers, the collateral is auctioned to repay the Dai debt, and a liquidation penalty is applied.

Dai's peg is maintained through a combination of mechanisms. The Stability Fee acts as an interest rate on outstanding Dai debt, encouraging or discouraging issuance based on market conditions. The Dai Savings Rate (DSR), accessible to anyone holding Dai, lets users earn yield by locking Dai into a special contract; raising the DSR pulls Dai off the open market and supports the peg. The Peg Stability Module (PSM) lets users swap USDC and other approved stablecoins for Dai at a fixed 1:1 rate with a small fee, providing direct arbitrage that keeps Dai close to a dollar.

In 2024, MakerDAO announced its evolution into Sky, a broader rebrand that introduced new tokens (USDS as a successor stablecoin and SKY as the governance token) while preserving Dai for users who prefer to keep using the original asset. Dai and USDS are designed to be interchangeable through an upgrade contract, and Dai continues to be supported across DeFi as the longest-running decentralized stablecoin. MKR holders were given the option to upgrade to SKY at a 1:24,000 ratio.

Dai is a multi-chain asset. While natively issued on Ethereum, it is bridged to Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, BNB Chain, Solana, and many other ecosystems. Dai has been integrated into nearly every major DeFi protocol since 2018, including Aave, Compound, Curve, Uniswap, MakerDAO's own portals, and countless lending and yield platforms. Its long history makes it one of the most battle-tested decentralized stablecoins in the industry.

Because a meaningful portion of Dai's collateral has historically been USDC and other centralized stablecoins, critics note that Dai inherits some centralization risk through its backing. The Sky/Maker community has progressively diversified collateral with real-world assets and crypto-native exposures to reduce this dependence, though USDC-backed Dai remains a notable share of the supply at any given time.

Getting Started With Dai

Dai is widely available and can be used in many ways:

Step 1: Set up an Ethereum-compatible wallet such as MetaMask, Rabby, or Coinbase Wallet.
Step 2: Acquire Dai by buying it on a centralized exchange, swapping for it on a DEX, or minting it through a Maker Vault using ETH or other supported collateral.
Step 3: Use Dai for trading, payments, or as collateral in DeFi protocols.
Step 4: Optionally lock Dai into the Dai Savings Rate (or its USDS equivalent) to earn yield directly from the protocol.
Step 5: Bridge Dai to another chain such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, or Polygon if you prefer lower fees than Ethereum mainnet.

If you mint Dai through a vault, monitor the collateralization ratio carefully and avoid leaving vaults too close to the liquidation threshold during volatile market conditions.

How to Get a Dai Wallet?

Dai is an ERC-20 token at its core and is supported by virtually every major Ethereum and multi-chain wallet:

MetaMask

MetaMask is the most widely used wallet for Dai on Ethereum and EVM chains. It supports Dai on Ethereum mainnet, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and other networks where Dai is bridged.

Rabby Wallet

Rabby is a DeFi-focused EVM wallet with strong support for Dai across all chains. It provides automatic balance detection and transaction simulation, which is especially useful when interacting with Maker Vaults or other DeFi positions.

Coinbase Wallet

Coinbase Wallet supports Dai across Ethereum and Base, with a clean mobile experience and integration with Coinbase's centralized exchange for easy on-ramping.

Hardware Wallets

Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets support Dai on Ethereum and other supported chains via integrations with MetaMask, Rabby, or their respective desktop apps. Hardware wallets are recommended for larger Dai balances or for users who actively manage Maker Vaults.

Dai Resources

How to Buy Dai?

Dai is supported by virtually every major exchange and DEX:

Centralized Exchanges

Dai is available on Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, Gate.io, and most other major exchanges. Trading pairs include DAI/USD, DAI/USDT, and DAI/USDC. Some platforms support direct fiat-to-Dai purchases.

Decentralized Exchanges

On Ethereum, Dai is one of the deepest-liquidity stablecoins on Curve, Uniswap, Balancer, and most other DEXs. On Layer 2 networks (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base) and other chains, Dai is widely available through bridge deployments and the major DEXs on each chain. Curve is especially efficient for stablecoin-to-stablecoin swaps.

Minting Through a Vault

Advanced users can mint Dai directly by depositing ETH, wBTC, or other approved collateral into a Maker Vault through the official portal. This generates fresh Dai backed by your collateral and gives you exposure to the underlying asset while still holding a stable unit on-chain.

Latest Dai News

The most significant recent development is MakerDAO's evolution into Sky. The Sky brand introduces USDS as a forward-looking successor stablecoin and SKY as the governance token, while keeping Dai available for users who prefer it. Dai and USDS are interchangeable through an upgrade module, and both are part of the same underlying collateral system.

Throughout 2025 and into 2026, the Sky ecosystem has continued to refine its real-world asset strategy, expand collateral types, and introduce new yield products such as the Sky Savings Rate. Dai's collateral mix has diversified beyond crypto into tokenized US Treasuries and other yield-bearing real-world assets, contributing to the protocol's revenue and resilience. Despite competition from fiat-backed stablecoins and newer decentralized issuers, Dai remains the longest-running and most battle-tested decentralized stablecoin in DeFi.