The first-mover advantage cannot always be fully capitalized. Various factors explain the challenges faced by the project that introduced the concept of DeFi and was, for a long time, the undisputed leader in this category. The protocol has not only been recognized as one of the most significant financial innovations in DeFi but also as a spearhead in the rise of DAOs.

In 2022, with 10 billion, everything pointed to exponential growth for the project, but that was its peak capitalization, falling to 4.6 billion. Currently, we are at 5.4 billion. A completely residual share in a market that is close to 170 billion in stablecoins. The market has once again reached the maximum levels of stablecoins issued, returning to its peak, something that makerDAO has not recovered.

Sky is transforming the project with the main goal of reaching 100 billion. The project aims to tackle its main structural problems to overcome these limitations, all within a DAO restructuring that rewrites a new chapter on how this coordination can evolve as projects grow into large organizations.

The simplest way to achieve this objective would be to carry out a Vampire Attack on USDT. A moderate success: with just 5% of its stablecoins, MakerDAO would have multiplied its market cap

However, it should reach agreements like those USDC/Circle is securing with different networks or projects. These projects will demand compensation for using one stablecoin over another. This is going to be a tough competition that has already begun to emerge. Not only will the yield provided to these applications be important, but also the trust in the brand. In this regard, MakerDAO, in the more decentralized space, should be a better option, although it hasn't yet managed to dominate in Ethereum.

For this growth, the protocol must be able to issue currency at the request of these protocols, which will likely demand it by depositing other stablecoins. MakerDAO should transform these stablecoins into assets it can leverage, such as treasury bonds. The allocator subDAOs should be responsible for this task

The other alternative is to offer an aggressive APR, which worked perfectly with Terra and has also worked with Ethena. The challenge is then to make these returns sustainable.

This alternative will be fundamentally represented by the farming of the new SubDAOs, referred to as 'stars.' Investing in these projects will only be possible by depositing stablecoins. This farming starts with SPARK, which is undoubtedly a protocol that could position itself in the TOP 10 of crypto. It is possible that this TOKEN might even be more profitable than MKR itself (even though the latter theoretically benefits from the entire ecosystem). However, traditionally, being an MKR holder has not been an attractive investment, as it has not captured most of the value generated by the project. In fact, in this DAO launch, which was funded by the protocol, MKR tokens did not receive any allocation. This is one of the explanations for its current price.

However, the value proposition of decentralization in this new stage is weakened for the main stablecoin with the introduction of the ability to freeze funds at the protocol level. These are the costs of competing in the institutional space, and the differentiation from USDC and USDT is no longer as clear. This situation leaves room for a much more decentralized stablecoin. Nonetheless, despite much public debate, the reality is that the market has not valued this differentiation.

With revenues exceeding 200 million, growth can multiply them. SubDAO teams like Spark reintroduce an impressive capacity for innovation within the Maker ecosystem, especially in a market at all-time highs for stablecoin capitalization. This is a pivotal moment for the DeFi ecosystem, where the former King returns to the scene. It will also be a validation of the new organization of the most important DAO in the space. We'll see where this journey takes us—hopefully to great heights!