The launch of Multi-Collateral Dai (MCD) last month and the transfer of MKR token control from the Maker Foundation to the governance community just eleven days ago, marked major steps toward providing the Maker community with more ownership of the Maker Protocol through the governance process. Both actions were in accord with the Maker Core Foundation Principle of gradual decentralization, which the governance community approved on September 12, 2018.

Today, the Maker Foundation, formally known as the Maker Ecosystem Growth Foundation, acknowledges another important step toward enabling the Maker Protocol to function and thrive independent of the Foundation: The Maker and Dai trademarks portfolios have been transferred to the newly formed Dai Foundation. Assignment of open-source software intellectual property (IP) for Maker Protocol components will follow. 

The Dai Foundation is based in Denmark and is independent of the Maker Foundation. Currently, its application to operate as a non-profit entity is under Danish government review.

The independent and self-governing Dai Foundation was formed to house the Maker community's key intangible assets, such as trademarks and code copyrights, and it operates solely on the basis of objective and rigid statutes that define its mandate. Its purpose, as noted in the Dai Foundation Trust Deed is to safeguard what cannot be technologically decentralized in the Maker Protocol:

The Dai Foundation has been created to safeguard certain intangible assets that underlie the MakerDAO system, which should not be taken over by or transferred to a single for-profit entity, but rather be used for sustainable growth of the MakerDAO system and for maximizing the public good thereof in line with a set of fundamental principles. 

Read the announcement in the Maker Forum from the Dai Foundation board about its formation and plans to engage with the community..

The operating expenses of the Dai Foundation will initially be covered by a donation from the Maker Foundation.  

“The Foundation is committed to driving and supporting the decentralization of the Maker Protocol,” says Rune Christensen, CEO of the Maker Foundation. “By transferring the Maker and Dai trademarks to the Dai Foundation, the community can rest assured that these assets are safeguarded and will be used for the benefit of the Maker Protocol beyond the Maker Foundation's limited lifetime.”

A strong, engaged, and motivated community is critical to the growth of the Maker ecosystem and the expansion of the DeFi (decentralized finance) movement. The formation of the Dai Foundation represents the latest significant step toward increased system decentralization.

Join the ongoing discussion about the path to decentralization of the Maker Protocol and more in the Maker Forum.