Maker (MKR)

MakerDAO is the protocol behind the stable coin DAI — a cryptocurrency that maintains a 1:1 peg to the USD. This means that 1 DAI will always be 1 US Dollar. One of the unique features of DAI is that it is not backed by a 3rd party claiming to have the required collateral. Instead DAI is backed by Ether that is deposited in the Maker smart contract. When Ether is deposited into the smart contract DAI coins are created. The project was started in 2015 and decided not to conduct an ICO, instead choosing to privately sell MKR tokens to fund development over time. Maker’s DAI stable coin launched at the start of 2018 and has experienced significant traction since then. The role of the MRK token in this system is as following. In case the MakerDAO smart contract contains less collateral than it should by for an example a sharp price decrease of Ether, additional Maker tokens are issued and sold on the market to pay back ETH and DAI holders.