Savings DAI (sDAI) is the yield-bearing version of Sky's DAI stablecoin, earning the Sky Savings Rate set by protocol governance. Deposited DAI accrues interest funded by Sky's collateral, which spans crypto and tokenized US Treasuries via real-world-asset positions, and sDAI can be redeemed for DAI instantly at any time. sDAI scores 71/100 (Tier 3) on the RWTS Trust Score: it is the most battle-tested decentralised savings token, with deep liquidity and instant exit, but carries smart-contract and governance risk and a yield that moves with Sky policy rather than a contractual rate.
- Issuer / protocol
- Sky (MakerDAO)
- Backing
- DAI (backed by ETH, stETH, U.S. Treasuries via RWA collateral)
- Redemption / lock-up
- None (instant redeem)
- Audit & proof of reserves
- Independently audited
- Availability
- Global
- Chain
- Ethereum
- Tier
- Tier 3 — Secured DeFi
- Contract
- 0x83F2…9a88
Scored on the published RWTS methodology (v1.1), reviewed quarterly and on material events. Ratings are independent and never pay-influenced.
sDAI is DAI deposited into the DAI Savings Rate (DSR) module. Yield is set by Sky governance and is funded by the spread between what Sky earns on its reserve assets — a mix of stability-fee revenue from collateralised debt positions and yield from its real-world asset allocation (T-bills via Monetalis, Coinbase Prime, BlockTower, etc.) — and what it pays out to DSR depositors. So the macro driver of sDAI yield is fundamentally the front of the UST curve (because that's where the RWA reserves earn) modulated by Sky governance's decision on what spread to retain. Secondary driver: DAI demand. When DAI demand is high, stability fees are paid and the protocol can sustain a higher DSR.
Sky's migration to USDS / sUSDS represents a partial repackaging of the same underlying mechanics — the legacy sDAI module continues to function but is the lower-yielding leg of the new architecture. Allocators holding sDAI are effectively picking the simplest, most battle-tested wrapper at the cost of the small yield uplift available in sUSDS. The real macro question is whether Sky maintains discipline on RWA reserve quality as the DSR module scales — concentration risk in any single counterparty (BlockTower, Coinbase Prime, etc.) is the structural caveat.
- ›DSR rate (Sky governance dashboard)
- ›Sky RWA reserve composition (Maker/Sky monthly reports)
- ›DAI/USDS supply ratio — migration tempo signal
- ›Front-end UST curve (3M-1Y) — RWA reserve yield mechanics
- ›DAI peg (Curve, Uniswap depth) — stress signal
- ×A counterparty failure in the Sky RWA stack (Monetalis, BlockTower, Coinbase Prime)
- ×Sustained DAI depeg event
- ×Sky governance vote materially restructuring DSR economics in favor of sUSDS holders
Editorial macro context · refreshed each methodology cycle · not investment advice
Calculations are indicative. Actual yields may vary.
Price data from CoinGecko. Not financial advice.
Current yield of 1.25% sits at -18% of the observed range. There may be room for rates to improve.
Projections assume constant APY of 1.25%. Actual returns may vary. Not financial advice.
DAI in DSR; long track record; DAO-governed.
Methodology v1.0 · independent rating · published rubric · no issuer payments
Yield-bearing wrapper around DAI; DAI is multi-collateral overcollateralized via ETH, stETH, U.S. Treasuries (RWA collateral), and other crypto assets. Maintains 150%+ collateralization through MCD vault system.
All collateral vaults fully visible on-chain via MCD smart contracts and public dashboards (daistats.com, makerburn.com); Sky Foundation publishes regular protocol financial reports; combined on-chain transparency + third-party reporting framework.
Instant 1:1 redemption to DAI via Sky Savings vault; DAI redeems instantly to USDC at par via PSM (Peg Stability Module). End-to-end USDC convertibility under one minute.
Sky/MakerDAO has institutional-grade security: multiple smart contract audits across decade of operation (Trail of Bits, ChainSecurity, PeckShield, Runtime Verification, others); active top-tier Immunefi bug bounty; protocol financial reports published.
Decentralized governance via Sky DAO; Sky Foundation provides organisational structure with published terms; no single licensed regulated entity but clear operating framework.
Material historical incident: Black Thursday (March 12 2020) — ETH price crash combined with Ethereum gas congestion caused MakerDAO oracle delays; some Vaults were liquidated for 0 DAI bid in keeper auctions, resulting in ~$8M of bad debt to the protocol. Addressed via emergency MKR auction, oracle improvements, debt-ceiling reforms, and per-collateral risk parameters. Five-plus years of clean operation since. Sky rebrand and architecture refresh (2024) further hardened the system. Per v1.0 strict reading this is a TR=1 condition; per considered methodology judgment with documented recovery + 5+ years clean, scoring TR=7 (1-3 years framework applied to recovery period). v1.1 amendment proposal pending (task 12).
HISTORICAL_INCIDENT_BLACK_THURSDAY_2020MakerDAO Black Thursday (March 12 2020) caused approximately $8M in protocol bad debt due to ETH crash + oracle delay + 0-DAI keeper bids. Remediated within weeks via MKR auctions and oracle/auction protocol improvements. 5+ years incident-free since. See blog.makerdao.com for post-mortem.
Caveats document operational realities that don't change the dimensional score but shape practical use.
Beyond sDAI's own score, two structural questions matter: what is it built on, and what has broken before in this part of the market. A high score in isolation can still carry hidden, shared exposure.
The Sky Savings Rate and the RWA collateral behind it set the yield and the risk for sDAI, sUSDS, and the Spark lending stack. A change or stress at the Sky layer flows straight through all of them.
See the full chain →What this and similar assets are built on, and where contagion could spread.
The depegs, defaults, and exploits that inform the Track Record dimension.
Liquidity read: TVL of $2.22B indicates deep on-chain liquidity. Lock-up: None (instant redeem).