Sky rebrand to Maker rejected as whale votes dominate

Sky’s move to return to its previous brand Maker was rejected in a management vote dominated by four whales.

In an announcement on 8 November, Sky said its management bid to rebrand to Maker had been rejected and that it would continue to use the Sky brand as the “primary backend protocol of the ecosystem”.

According to data from the Sky governance forum, just 18.5% of votes backed by a single whale pledging 14,800 MKR tokens supported the change to revive the Maker brand with a limited revamp, while just over 2.2% of users voted in favor . To restore the “Maker” brand to its completely original form.

Remarkably, only four whales controlled the majority of voting power, contributing a total of 62,452 MKR tokens (98% of the total votes) in favor of preserving the Sky brand.

Sky governance voting weight | Source: Sky governance

One community member mocked the voting results, suggesting that influence within the “community” was concentrated among a few individuals.

According to Sky, the result is in line with the original plan to transition from MKR to SKY, the ecosystem’s core brand.

The push for Maker to rebrand comes just a month after Sky rebranded in August, when Maker’s governance token MKR was replaced with SKY, and the protocol’s stablecoin DAI was renamed Sky Dollar with the USDS sign.

The November 4 offering responded to community concerns and confusion over the rebranding, as Maker co-founder Rune Christensen noted that many users were unclear about the utility of the Sky token.

Some community members had previously raised concerns about the decentralized nature of USDS due to a possible freeze function that would allow the issuer to freeze the token.

Supporters of the Sky brand, on the other hand, urged the community to focus on the protocol’s Endgame roadmap proposed by Christensen in 2022 and the broader vision behind the rebranding.

People completely misunderstand the Maker > Sky rebrand and why it was a huge success

The 2 most important things have been achieved

1) USDS can now be blacklisted so Maker/Sky is no longer seen as a shady mixer in the eyes of regulators

2) Sky probably has over $1 billion in extra liquidity. How?… pic.twitter.com/Es8mSHmXZd

— DMH | Devcon (@DeFi_Made_Here) 16 October 2024

Framework Ventures co-founder Vance Spencer said in a Nov. 4 post that Sky’s rebranding will support the growth of the protocol with new offerings that include plans to launch decentralized and compliant stablecoins, integrate with platforms like Aave, and roll out new features. Solana and Ethereum Layer 2.

Spencer added that the project’s timing and limited change support prevented a full-scale launch, but expressed confidence in its long-term vision, stating that he believes “there’s a ton of value to be unlocked by following the Endgame roadmap.”

However, the community seems to have responded positively to the news, as both MKR and SKY are up over 3%.