At a glance…

• The Maker Foundation has worked to ensure the long-term security and sustainability of the Protocol. 
• The Foundation now focuses on its dissolution, which is targeted for, at latest, December 31, 2021. 
• Dissolution updates will be provided. 

The Foundation recently took significant steps to finalize its role in the Maker ecosystem. By releasing its last Protocol upgrade, Liquidations 2.0, and transferring 84,000 MKR from the Development Fund to the control of MKR holders, the Foundation accomplished two long-term goals: leave the Protocol secure and self-sustaining, and return Dev Fund holdings to the DAO. 

It’s been an interesting few weeks, and we are thankful for the Maker community’s attention and enthusiasm. The community’s support of the core principles of Maker governance has powered the drive to create an open-source protocol that’s collectively owned, community-managed, and self-sustaining. The work of all community members has positioned Maker at the forefront of decentralized finance.

Next Steps: Administrative Housekeeping

The Foundation will now focus on its dissolution, which is targeted for, at latest, December 31, 2021. 

The logistical actions that will need to be taken to dissolve the Foundation are many and will include things such as transferring control of certain web properties like parts of the software development infrastructure to a DAO Core Unit approved by Maker governance.

These and other tasks will not be accomplished overnight. Dissolving one organization while attempting to support a decentralized one is exciting new ground, and we’ve learned a lot thus far. As we work toward these goals, the Foundation will update the community on our progress. Please be patient; we’re doing our best!

FAQs

Included in our effort to keep the global Maker community updated on Foundation progress is the intent to anticipate member questions and concerns. If you have questions that don’t appear below, please post them in the MakerDAO Forum or in Maker’s Rocket.chat channel.

1. I’m new to the Maker community and hearing for the first time about the dissolution of the Foundation. Where can I go to catch up on background information?

It has always been the Foundation’s plan to dissolve and allow for any of its functions to be fully assumed by the decentralized community. In fact, the Foundation has consistently stated this goal publicly since its formation. Here are some blog posts and a video in which dissolution is mentioned:

• What Will Maker Governance Look Like After Complete Decentralization? - April 3, 2020
• Rune Discusses Foundation Dissolution during the weekly Governance & Risk Meeting - April 2, 2020
• Beyond Holding MKR: The Responsibility of Decentralized MakerDAO Governance Voting - April 1, 2020
• Introducing the Maker Ecosystem Growth Group - February 11, 2019
• Foundation Proposal v2 (an update of v1) - August 21, 2018

2. Are all Foundation employees moving to the DAO? 

Many members of the Foundation are interested in pursuing commercial ventures, directly working with MakerDAO, or moving on to projects completely independent of Maker. One important note, however: All Foundation employees who apply to the DAO (e.g., as Core Unit facilitators or team members) are subject to the same approval, vetting, and voting process as any other applicant.

3. Where can I learn more about the Core Units proposed to or accepted by the DAO?

In the Maker Forum, here.

The Importance of Decentralization

Complete decentralization has always been paramount to Maker’s mission for good reason: It’s core to providing the trust and transparency needed to offer users full and fair access to DeFi. For Dai to continue to succeed as a stable and unbiased currency, and for the Protocol to scale and become future-proof, governance of the system should be open and aligned with the interests of all stakeholders.

To learn more about MakerDAO and the Maker Protocol, and to participate in community discussions and DAO governance, please visit the MakerDAO Forum.