Maker is a Decentralized Autonomous Organisation (DAO) that manages its stablecoin, DAI. Maker allows people to collateralize their Ethereum to obtain DAI loans through a system called Collateralized Debt Positions (CDPs). These are smart contracts that lock Ethereum (ETH) as collateral and return them when the DAI loan is repaid.
Maker has two different tokens created by the Maker Foundation: Maker (MKR) and DAI. Maker (MKR) is an Ethereum token that describes itself as a utility token, governance token, and recapitalization resource of the Maker system and DAI is a collateral-backed stablecoin on the Ethereum blockchain.
The Maker Protocol and DAI are governed by MakerDAO, which is a decentralized governance community that manages the Maker Protocol through an embedded governance mechanism.
The Maker Foundation is the organization facilitating the development of MakerDAO. The Maker Foundation is responsible for regular updates on progress made towards decentralization and was planned to dissolve once the MakerDAO became self-sustainable. The Maker Foundation was founded by its Founder and CEO, Rune Christensen.
Rune Christensen - Founder and CEO, Maker Foundation
Rune Christensen is a Danish entrepreneur who founded MakerDAO in 2015. He has focused on establishing the vision and organizational structure of the MakerDAO and the economic foundations of the Dai stable digital currency. Prior to MakerDAO, he served as co-founder of Try China, a company providing international recruiting services.
In 2021, CEO Rune Christensen announced the dissolution of the Maker Foundation and also said that all responsibilities relating to operations would switch over to MakerDAO. Now the organization is made up of all MKR token holders, vocal community members, and ecosystem stakeholders. MKR holders have the sole authority to enact changes to the system through on-chain voting. The Maker Community is MakerDAO in which a wide world of people and organizations use or support DAI. From early adopters to Maker Foundation Employees to MKR holders, the Maker Community is an indispensable and critical part of the Maker system.
