February might be the shortest month of the year, but that didn’t stop us from going long on Making Maker content. From fun and informative blog posts to a powerful new Maker governance tool, it’s all detailed below. But before diving in, let’s take a look at the latest figures from daistats.com as of March 2, 2021, 8:15 am PT. 

Blog Round-up

Four Ways DeFi Users Can Pay Less in Ethereum Gas Fees

The high cost of Ethereum gas is an issue that will ultimately be addressed with Ethereum 2.0. But that upgrade, which will roll out in stages and make wide-ranging improvements to the network, may take years to complete. In the meantime, there are several steps that users can take to pay less in gas fees. 

Little-Known Facts About MakerDAO

From late 2014 through 2017, as MakerDAO was taking shape, it went through various iterations. While much of its intriguing history is a matter of public record, that record is disbursed amongst crypto forum archives and social media platforms, and therefore may not be widely known, especially to those new to DeFi.

The Top 5 DeFi Developments to Watch In 2021

As the DeFi movement shows no signs of slowing down, several key trends have become fixed while others are worth watching as the space continues to develop throughout the year. Take a look at what they are and why they matter.

Worth Repeating

Decentralized, Stable Crypto Tokens Broaden Their Appeal to the Digital Artwork Market

Alongside the remarkable growth of the DeFi space in 2020, interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) surged as artists discovered new ways to express themselves and reach new markets. 

Nine Most Common Missteps of Crypto and DeFi Users

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is a fast-growing blockchain-based movement. Users love its benefits, but some face a learning curve when navigating the new tech. This post details common user mistakes and offers insight on how to avoid making them.

Developer Resources

Maker Protocol Technical Documentation

Everything—everything—you need to know about the Maker Protocol exists in (highly technical) documentation. Get your geek on!

Developer Guides

MakerDAO’s Developer Guides help anyone integrate with Maker’s smart contracts, SDKs, APIs, products, and partners. Bookmark the guides and review them anytime.

Governance Updates

Maker Governance Review: February 2021

The Maker Governance Review is a monthly recap of all Governance activity, from Governance blog posts and polling/voting history to Governance Cycle progress. Each review is written to keep the Maker community informed of Governance developments.

Introducing the MCD Voting Tracker 

To assist the Maker governance community in its decision-making, the Maker Foundation’s Data Services Team has created the MCD Voting Tracker—a powerful new resource to complement the growing list of community-created governance tools.

Governance Polls and Executive Votes in February 2021 

• Feb. 26: Executive Vote: Rates Updates, UNI-V2-DAI-USDT Onboarding
• Feb. 22: Governance Polls: Rates Proposal, New Collateral Type, and more
• Feb. 19 : Executive Vote: Onboarding Uniswap V2 LPTs, Parameter Updates
• Feb. 15: Governance Polls: Greenlight Polls, Collateral Onboarding, and Parameter Adjustments
• Feb. 13: Executive Vote: Onboarding Uniswap V2 LPTs, Rates Updates, Other Changes
• Feb. 8: Governance Polls: Add Collateral Types, Set IAM Parameters, and more
• Feb. 5: Executive Vote: Onboarding Uniswap V2 LPTs
• Feb. 1: Governance Polls: Collateral Onboarding, Oracles, and more

Miss This? Maker Governance Review: January 2021

The Maker community now hosts weekly governance Q & A sessions. All are welcome to attend and learn more about how Maker governance works.

To stay current on governance, risk, and community issues, bookmark the MakerDAO Public Events Calendar. Newcomers to Maker might want to review our series of posts on the MakerDAO Governance Risk Framework.

Community Highlights 

ICYMI: The Redesigned MakerDAO Community Development Portal is Live.

Take a look at the MakerDAO Community Development site to learn how to increase your knowledge of Maker, and more.

To stay current on Maker Community meetings, bookmark our Community Playlist on YouTube.

Event Recaps

On February 1, during Binance Blockchain Week, Jeremy Hollister, Head of People Success for the Maker Foundation, joined a panel discussion titled The Future of Work. Jeremy shared his thoughts on the decentralization of work and novel organization structures, including DAOs.

Although we missed meeting community members in-person at ETHDenver 2021, we gathered virtually on February 4. Amy Jung, the Maker Foundation’s Head of Community Development, joined Simona Pop (Status), Vanessa Slavich (Celo), Elena Giralt (Zcash), and Lindsey Howard (Foundation) in a panel discussion titled Evolution of Community. Amy shared the latest achievements from the MakerDAO community and best practices for building strong communities in the crypto space. Watch the main-stage event discussion below. 

Adrian le Bas, the Maker Foundation’s Head of Developer Experience, spoke at ETHDenver’s MakerSpace event presented in collaboration with BlockArt and titled An Introduction to Blockchain Art.  

On February 22, Petru Catana, an Integrations Engineer for the Maker Foundation, joined the Hello Decentralization conference to discuss Maker Protocol architecture and governance. Hello Decentralization events offer discussions and workshops focused on technologies, protocols, and projects in the decentralized world. Watch the entire event.

Monthly Events

Yasashi (Easy) DeFi: Kathleen Chu, the Maker Foundation’s Community Lead in Japan, co-hosts this friendly educational series of meetups focused on educating the Japanese community on the financial opportunities and services DeFi provides. The February 17 meetup was held on Clubhouse for the first time in an effort to reach a new audience. The organizers explained the basics of DeFi and then opened the floor to questions. The February 25 event featured Kyber Network’s Taisuke Horitsugi, who demonstrated how simulation works on Instapp, where beginners can experiment with DeFi in a gas-free and risk-free environment. Check the schedule for future event dates and times. 

FriDai Brunch: Maria Magenes, Maker’s Community Lead for Europe and Africa, hosts this monthly meetup series that offers blockchain newbies and old-schoolers a welcoming space to learn about new projects and advancements in the space. Join her and special guests on the first Friday of every month. The February 12 edition of FriDAI Brunch, titled Blockchain for Humanity, focused on how the blockchain can be used as a tool for social improvements worldwide.

Upcoming Events

See the Maker Events page for a list of the many events we sponsor, participate in, or plan to attend. 

Reminder: If you’re organizing a small event that incorporates Maker or Dai—whether it's a meetup, panel, talk, or workshop—we want to support you! Learn more about our global meetups and micro-grants initiative. 

The Maker Foundation Is Hiring!

The Maker Foundation is looking for awesome people to join our growing, hard-working, and overall badass team. Check out our open roles and reach out if you’re interested!

Learn more about MakerDAO:

Website: https://makerdao.com/

Blog: https://blog.makerdao.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/MakerDAO/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/makerdao