Maker

Background Information About Maker

Founded in 2014 by Rune Christensen, MakerDAO is a decentralized governance community that enables the generation of Dai, the world’s leading decentralized stablecoin. Users lock their Ethereum in a CDP (Collateralized Debt Position) smart contract, and in return, they receive DAI as a loan. The decentralized governance community of MakerDAO manages the generation of DAI through an embedded governance mechanism within the Maker Protocol. 

The Maker Protocol is the set of smart contracts that make it possible to generate Dai. The Protocol was the first decentralized finance (DeFi) application to earn significant adoption and remains one of the largest decentralized applications (DAPPs) on the Ethereum blockchain.

What is DAI?

The Dai stablecoin is a decentralized, unbiased, collateral-backed cryptocurrency whose value is soft-pegged to the US Dollar. It is held in digital wallets that are supported on Ethereum and other popular blockchains. All the circulating Dai are generated from Maker Vaults and are backed by a surplus of collateral assets. 

Users generate Dai by depositing collateral assets into Maker Vaults within the Maker Protocol. Dai enables a wide range of financial activities and applications that have previously been untenable due to the volatility of legacy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. You can obtain Dai by buying it from brokers or exchanges or simply by receiving it as a means of payment.

How to get DAI?

To get a Dai, you need to buy it, or exchange a local currency for Dai, or trade another crypto-asset for it.

1. Buy with a Fiat Currency

You can buy Dai at an exchange that supports fiat trading. Some of the popular services are listed below.

i) Changelly- A simple way to buy Dai with fiat is to use Changelly. You can use credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, or Apple pay.

ii) Coinbase- It is one of the most popular cryptos on/off-ramp. It supports bank transfer, wire transfer payment methods.

Apart from these, you can use other platforms like Kraken, Wyre, among others. 

2. Buy with Cryptocurrency

There are plenty of options when trading from other crypto assets. You can get Dai on either at centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges, or peer-to-peer marketplaces. 

i) Centralized Exchanges

If you want an Ethereum wallet and keep it secure without hassles, you need to consider trading on a centralized exchange. Such exchanges tend to be more liquid, and some keep detailed trade records to simplify accounting later on. You can buy Dai on centralized exchanges like Bittrex, Coinbase, KuCoin, among others.

ii) Decentralized Exchanges

It is one of the best ways to obtain a Dai. By design, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are non-custodial, not bound by geographic restrictions, and do not involve trusting third parties. They can trade straight from their Web3 wallet (e.g., MetaMask) while retaining full control of their assets. You can use DEXs such as Oasis, Kyber, Uniswap, etc.

iii) Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces

The platforms fill the gaps in the regions that lack access to suitable exchanges or have restrictions on cryptocurrency trading. They also act as fiat on-and-off-ramps, thereby enabling you to later trade on DEXs that offer more liquidity and fairer pricing. LocalCryptos, LocalBitcoins, Bisq are a few peer-to-peer marketplaces.