How does DAI maintain its $1 peg without a central issuer?

DAI maintains its peg through over-collateralization (users lock $150+ in crypto to borrow $100 DAI) and economic incentives (stability fees and DSR rewards).

What collateral can I lock to create DAI?

Current collateral types include ETH, USDC, DAI, and other approved tokens. New collateral types are governed through MKR voting.

What is the Dai Savings Rate (DSR)?

DSR allows DAI holders to earn rewards for locking DAI in the Savings contract, currently yielding 3-5% annually.

Is DAI safer than USDT or USDC?

DAI is decentralized and fully on-chain, eliminating counterparty risk. USDT/USDC depend on issuer solvency. Each has different trade-offs.

You can create DAI by locking collateral in MakerDAO vaults on the Maker platform.

Home/Supported Coins/Dai

Dai

Decentralized Stablecoin

Launch Year

2015

Consensus

Governance-based

Max Supply

Unlimited (supply governed by MakerDAO)

Block Time

Chain-dependent

About Dai

Dai (DAI) is a decentralized, crypto-collateralized stablecoin maintained by the MakerDAO protocol on Ethereum and other blockchains. Unlike centralized stablecoins like USDT or USDC, DAI maintains its USD peg through economic incentives and over-collateralization — users must lock crypto (ETH, stablecoins, or other assets) worth more than their DAI loan. This trustless design means DAI requires no central issuer and is fully transparent on-chain. The MakerDAO community governs DAI through MKR token voting, controlling parameters like collateral ratios and stability fees. DAI is widely used in DeFi for lending, decentralized finance protocols, and as a trustless USD alternative for users who distrust centralized entities.

History

2015

MakerDAO publishes research on decentralized stablecoins

2017

Maker launches Multi-Collateral DAI (MCD) enabling multiple collateral types

2020

DAI becomes primary stablecoin for DeFi protocols

2021

DAI supply exceeds $2 billion as DeFi TVL grows

2022

Maker adds stETH and other crypto collaterals to DAI backing

2024

DAI reaches $5+ billion supply with integration across 10+ blockchains

How to Swap DAI

Swapping Dai (DAI) on SyntheticSwap requires no registration or KYC. DAI operates across multiple chains including Ethereum, making it compatible with MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Ledger, and most major Web3 wallets. Open SyntheticSwap, select DAI as your source or destination asset, enter your receiving wallet address, and confirm the floating rate. After sending DAI to the provided deposit address, the destination asset is delivered directly to your wallet. No personal information is ever collected — fully non-custodial.

How to Store DAI

DAI is primarily an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, but is also available on Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, and other chains. Use Ethereum-compatible wallets like MetaMask, Ledger Live, or Trust Wallet. For large DAI holdings, hardware wallets like Ledger provide maximum security. All wallets require a seed phrase backup — store offline and never share. DAI is ideal for long-term holding as a decentralized USD alternative.