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How Does it Work: Stablecoin Dai and Ethereum’s Maker DAO

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The volatility of cryptocurrencies has been one of the crypto trend’s largest problems, and it is still nowhere near being solved for the vast majority of them. However, as an attempt to combat this issue, researchers came up with a concept of stablecoins — cryptocurrencies that would be backed with real-world assets (fiat currencies, gold, etc.), or by other means, such as control of circulating supply or being backed by other coins.

However, most stablecoins were considered to be shady, and not real cryptocurrencies, as methods of controlling their prices often had a certain level of centralization accompanying them. This changed when the crypto winter struck, and investors needed an alternative that would protect them from dropping prices.

Tether (USDT) emerged as the most popular stablecoin, which is a title that it still holds to this day. However, Tether has had a number of controversies which caused many to lose trust in it and turn to alternatives to this alternative.

This is where Ethereum’s Maker DAO and a stablecoin Dai come in.

Maker and Dai

Dai is a popular stablecoin, backed by ETH coins which are locked within a smart contract. It is currently ranked as 59th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, but even so, it has been a topic of many discussions lately,

Dai coins are created within a network known as Maker DAO, which is a decentralized autonomous organization within the Ethereum ecosystem. Maker has become well-known for its ability to create dais, cryptocurrency-backed stablecoins. It uses the SCD (Single-Collateral Dai) system to allow pretty much anyone to store their ETH coins and create a stablecoin with a value of $1 per coin.

The system has become quite popular since the start of the crypto winter, and some estimates claim that around 1% of Ethereum’s entire circulating supply is currently locked up within the Maker system. The Maker and Dai share pretty much the same community, one that has been quite small, but it is slowly expanding.

What makes Dai different than other stablecoins?

As mentioned, there are several types of stablecoins, most of which are considered ‘traditional’ stablecoins, as they are backed by fiat currencies, such as the USD. Tether is one of them, but so is USD Coin (USDC), as well as Gemini Dollar (GUSD). These are coins created and backed by companies, such as Tether and Gemini, which keeps them centralized, which does not lie well with crypto purists.

Dai, on the other hand, is backed by another cryptocurrency — Ethereum. It has no central authority, and it only has its price thanks to the fact that Ethereum itself has value. In other words, ETH acts as collateral for DAI. The system that allows the creation of Dai also uses a method called overcollateralization (OC) to reduce risks and ensure that Dai will keep its value, even if Ethereum’s price drops. This requires the ratio of ETH collateral necessary to acquire Dai to be fixed at 1.5:1 all the time.

Maker and Dai face criticism

While this system seems to be working, as Dai is still quite popular for such a low-ranked coin (its daily trading volume is at $30.5 million), there are many who criticize it, claiming that the project will fail. They often compare it to the first DAO that Ethereum network had, which lost $50 million in mid-2016.

This happened because some users exploited the DAO’s code, which allowed them to take a large portion of its funds. Others claim that OC is a scheme and that neither the system nor the stablecoin should be trusted. Skeptics also believe that the regulators will crack down on Dai sooner or later and that this project will fail as well.

However, while there are clearly some concerns, the Maker Dao system continues to create new Dai tokens in exchange for the appropriate amount of ETH, and the system appears to be working. The project even hopes to expand the list of possible collaterals in the future, going beyond Ethereum itself.

Not only that, but there was also speculation that other cryptocurrencies might try to create their own version of Maker and Dai, such as Bitcoin Cash. However, this is all still nothing more than speculation, although it might be worth noting that this could be one potential path crypto might travel in the future in hopes of reaching stability.

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.

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Altcoins

Solana Price Surges Beyond $100, Dethroning Ripple and BNB To Secure Fourth Place

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Solana price performance in recent times has been remarkable, surpassing Ripple and Binance Coin to become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. The SOL price breached the critical level of $100 for the first time since April 2022 over the weekend to imbue optimism among investors. However, the altcoin has corrected by 7%, suggesting that the market is overheated. At the time of writing, the ‘Ethereum killer’ was trading slightly lower at $111.60.

SOL Outlook

Solana price has made a significant recovery over the past few weeks, climbing above the psychological level of $100. The altcoin has been one of the best-performing assets this year, extending its year-to-date gains to more than 1,025%, with more gains recorded in the past month alone. However, even with such growth, analysts have noted that Solana has a bleak chance of topping its ATH of $260.

The reason behind this is the increase in supply relative to its value. In November 2021, when the Solana price hit its all-time high of $260, its total market capitalization was around $78 billion. Despite the value of the crypto asset being less than half of what it was at the top, its market cap is currently hovering near $50 billion.

This has been brought about by the increase in the Solana supply by more than 100 million SOL over the past two years. According to some analysts, for the altcoin to retest $260, its…

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Altcoins

Solana Price Skyrockets to 20-Month Peak Amidst Memecoin Frenzy

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Solana price has noted significant gains over the past few weeks, climbing to its highest level since April 2022. The ‘Ethereum Killer’ almost topped the crucial level of $100 on Friday, before pulling back slightly. The asset’s recent surge has catapulted Solana’s total market cap to $39.6 billion, ranking 5th after and above BNB and XRP, respectively. Solana has jumped by more than 22% in the past week and more than 80% in the month to date. At the time of writing, SOL price was trading 0.90% lower at $93.10.

Catalysts Behind SOL’s Rally

Solana price has been on a strong bull run over the past few days, rocketing to its highest level in 20 months as the network benefits from the substantial activity and strong interest in memecoins. The SOL token, the native digital asset of the high-performance blockchain platform Solana, has shown some serious strength over the past few weeks, outperforming all the altcoins in the market.

The recent surge in the Solana price has been linked to heightened on-chain activities on the Solana blockchain. Notably, the ongoing hype for the blockchain’s speedy transactions, cheap fees, and a lottery of meme coin issuances has buoyed SOL’s on-chain activity. Metrics have revealed that Solana has been the strongest draw among on-chain traders, with trading volumes and network fees outperforming Ethereum- the largest altcoin by market cap.

Cited figures provided by DeFi aggregator DeFiLlama

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Altcoins

Solana Price Breaches $60 Amid a Symphony of Bullish Indicators

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Solana price has jumped more than 8% over the past week, breaching the important level of $60. At the time of writing, Solana was trading 3% higher at $61.07. The asset’s total market cap has climbed to $25.9 billion over the past week, ranking it the 6th largest cryptocurrency after XRP. The total volume of SOL traded over the last day has declined by 8%.

SOL’s Bullish Cues

Solana’s price has been among the best-performing cryptocurrencies this year amid continuous growth. The “Ethereum killer” has consistently impressed investors throughout the year on the back of a resurgence in bullishness, which saw SOL’s price climb more than 513% in the year to date. Institutional investors have also shared the bullish sentiment, making Solana their most preferred altcoin.

In the week ending November 24, Solana recorded inflows worth nearly $3.5 million, significantly more than the other altcoins’ inflows combined. The asset’s monthly inflows were higher at $40.2 million, lower than Ethereum’s $99.6 million inflows in the same period. Other altcoins, including Litecoin and Ethereum, noted significant outflows, making Solana nearly half of the home for DeFi. This implies that when it comes to institutions, Solana is currently the best-performing altcoin with the potential of a long-term rally much higher than other digital assets.

Notably, the Solana DeFi ecosystem accomplished a significant milestone earlier this week. Its Total Value Locked (TVL) hit a new yearly peak of over $655 million,…

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