Audit log

Every state-changing event for Sky (MakerDAO): moderation decisions on community submissions, plus corrections and updates from the news pipeline. URL-based decisions carry three independent witnesses — the original source, an Internet Archive snapshot taken at submission time, and a Solana memo signed by our publicly-disclosed publisher key.

1. #1publishby system:backfill

   2026-05-14 06:02:52Z
   Score: ? → ? (no score change)
   anchoranchored

   chain

   ●mainnet-betaslot 419,629,003

   sig

   66f2vRVfZ6go…Vqktveincopyexplorer ↗

   hash

   7Vy2SYjQhXXS…43LaRebMcopysha256 → base58

   verifying row…full verify ↗

   canonical bytes (14295 B) ▸

   {"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"a19f2993-f03b-4b55-ba33-7f77dadac14c","kind":"publish","page_slug":"sky-makerdao","published_at":"2026-05-14T06:02:52.310Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Sky (MakerDAO)","sections":[{"content":"Founded 2014-15 by Rune Christensen and Nikolai Mushegian. DAI launched December 2017. Rebranded to Sky in August 2024 with USDS (1:1 DAI migration) and SKY (1:24,000 MKR) token conversion. Maker Foundation dissolved in 2021.","heading":"Protocol Overview and Rebrand","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinDesk: MakerDAO Is Now Sky","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/08/27/makerdao-is-now-sky-as-7b-crypto-lender-rolls-out-new-stablecoin-governance-token"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: MakerDAO Rebrands to Sky","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/313235/makerdao-mkr-sky-dai-stablecoin-usds"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Bloomberg: MakerDAO Rebrands as Sky","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-27/defi-platform-makerdao-rebrands-itself-as-sky-to-bolster-usage"}]},{"content":"Oracle failure combined with network congestion and a zero-bid exploit drained ~$8.32M in ETH collateral for zero DAI. ~6.65M DAI in bad debt was created. Governance voted 65% against compensating victims. A $28M class action was dismissed in February 2023. Metronym settled a subset for $1.16M in April 2023.","heading":"Black Thursday — March 2020","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinDesk: Black Thursday Mempool Manipulation","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2020/07/22/mempool-manipulation-enabled-theft-of-8m-in-makerdao-collateral-on-black-thursday-report"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Glassnode: What Really Happened to MakerDAO","type":"research","url":"https://insights.glassnode.com/what-really-happened-to-makerdao/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinDesk: Black Thursday Lawsuit Dismissed","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/02/24/crypto-investors-28m-black-thursday-lawsuit-against-defi-giant-maker-dismissed-by-us-judge"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Blockworks: Maker Settles for $1.16M","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/maker-settle-black-thursday"}]},{"content":"A critical DSChief governance vulnerability was found by OpenZeppelin in April 2019 ($100M at risk, patched before exploit). Flash loan manipulation of a governance vote in October 2020 led to Governance Security Module implementation. Extensive audit history via Trail of Bits, PeckShield, and ChainSecurity.","heading":"Smart Contract Security","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"OpenZeppelin: MakerDAO Critical Vulnerability","type":"research","url":"https://blog.openzeppelin.com/makerdao-critical-vulnerability"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: Flash Loan Governance Vote","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/82721/makerdao-issues-warning-after-a-flash-loan-is-used-to-pass-a-governance-vote"}]},{"content":"Academic research (arXiv 2022) found top 3 holders controlled 78%+ of votes. The Endgame Constitution vote saw ~65-75% of affirmative votes from Christensen-delegated power. A November 2024 Sky brand vote had ~20 total voters with 4 entities holding ~80% of vote weight.","heading":"Governance Centralization","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"arXiv: Decentralization Illusion in DeFi","type":"research","url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2203.16612"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: Four Entities Control Sky Vote","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/325096/just-four-entities-account-for-nearly-all-the-votes-to-keep-makerdaos-rebranding-to-sky"}]},{"content":"Two documented depeg events: Black Thursday 2020 (post-crash, USDC addition as collateral), and March 2023 SVB/USDC depeg when DAI briefly depegged due to USDC exposure. Emergency governance proposals were enacted within hours but the 48-hour execution delay rendered them moot.","heading":"DAI Depeg Events","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinDesk: DAI Depegs to Lifetime Lows","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/03/11/dai-depegs-as-stablecoin-rout-plagues-crypto"}]},{"content":"USDS introduced a wallet-freeze capability, departing from DAI's immutable design. Justified by RWA/U.S. Treasury compliance requirements. A 'PureDai' alternative was committed to. Strong DeFi community backlash ensued.","heading":"USDS Freeze Function Controversy","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"DL News: Sky Rebrand Freeze Function","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/makerdao-sky-rebrand-brings-usds-stablecoin-freeze-function/"}]},{"content":"Multi-phase governance restructuring ratified in October 2022. NewChain (Solana fork proposal, September 2023) prompted Vitalik Buterin to sell ~$580K in MKR and describe the direction as 'weird.'","heading":"Endgame Plan and SubDAO Structure","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: Endgame Plan Ratified","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/223134/makerdao-endgame-plan-ratified-in-new-constitution"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: Vitalik Sells MakerDAO Stake","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/248856/vitalik-sells-makerdao-stake-after-ceo-christensen-suggests-solana-based-blockchain"}]},{"content":"No public SEC/CFTC/DOJ enforcement actions against MakerDAO, Sky, or Rune Christensen. Significant RWA/T-bill exposure increases regulatory surface. The Tornado Cash sanctions episode (2022) prompted emergency shutdown planning but no action materialized.","heading":"Regulatory Status","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"The Defiant: MakerDAO Emergency Shutdown Tornado","type":"news_article","url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/tornado-impact-makerdao-dai"}]},{"content":"~$5.8M in Centrifuge bad debt across two defaulted pools in 2023 (Harbor Trade Credit, ControlFreight). Small relative to ~$7B collateral base. The protocol has since shifted toward T-bills which carry different regulatory and interest rate risk.","heading":"RWA Exposure and Default Incidents","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinDesk: MakerDAO Halts Tokenized Credit Pool","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/07/20/makerdao-votes-to-halt-lending-to-tokenized-credit-pool-after-2m-loan-default"}]},{"content":"Co-founder Nikolai Mushegian died by drowning on October 28, 2022, age 29. Police found no evidence of foul play. No connection to protocol operations was established.","heading":"Co-founder Nikolai Mushegian Death","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Decrypt: No Evidence of Foul Play in Mushegian Death","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/113602/makerdao-co-founder-death-nikolai-mushegian"}]},{"content":"Blockworks reported adoption 'flatlined' one year post-rebrand. USDS supply grew ~86% to ~$9.86B through 2025. Sky Savings TVL reached ~$4B ATH. MKR-to-SKY conversion penalty mechanism introduced May 2025.","heading":"Adoption Post-Rebrand","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Blockworks: Sky Adoption Lags","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/sky-dao-adoption"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: SKY Conversion Penalty Vote","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/371401/sky-opens-vote-to-penalize-stragglers-delaying-mkr-to-sky-token-conversion"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinDesk: MakerDAO Is Now Sky","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/08/27/makerdao-is-now-sky-as-7b-crypto-lender-rolls-out-new-stablecoin-governance-token"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Bloomberg: MakerDAO Rebrands as Sky","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-27/defi-platform-makerdao-rebrands-itself-as-sky-to-bolster-usage"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinDesk: Black Thursday Manipulation","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2020/07/22/mempool-manipulation-enabled-theft-of-8m-in-makerdao-collateral-on-black-thursday-report"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Glassnode: What Happened to MakerDAO","type":"research","url":"https://insights.glassnode.com/what-really-happened-to-makerdao/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"OpenZeppelin: MakerDAO Vulnerability","type":"research","url":"https://blog.openzeppelin.com/makerdao-critical-vulnerability"},{"credibility":1,"name":"arXiv: Decentralization Illusion","type":"research","url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2203.16612"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: Four Entities Control Vote","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/325096/just-four-entities-account-for-nearly-all-the-votes-to-keep-makerdaos-rebranding-to-sky"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinDesk: DAI Depegs","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/03/11/dai-depegs-as-stablecoin-rout-plagues-crypto"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DL News: USDS Freeze Function","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/makerdao-sky-rebrand-brings-usds-stablecoin-freeze-function/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: Endgame Ratified","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/223134/makerdao-endgame-plan-ratified-in-new-constitution"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: Vitalik Sells MKR","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/248856/vitalik-sells-makerdao-stake-after-ceo-christensen-suggests-solana-based-blockchain"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinDesk: Black Thursday Dismissed","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/02/24/crypto-investors-28m-black-thursday-lawsuit-against-defi-giant-maker-dismissed-by-us-judge"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decrypt: Mushegian Death","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/113602/makerdao-co-founder-death-nikolai-mushegian"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Blockworks: Sky Adoption Lags","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/sky-dao-adoption"}],"summary":"Sky (formerly MakerDAO) is a DeFi lending protocol founded by Rune Christensen that governs the DAI/USDS stablecoin system. Rebranded in August 2024 with USDS and SKY token migration. Key risks include the March 2020 Black Thursday oracle failure ($8.32M in losses, $28M class action dismissed), governance centralization (top 3 holders controlled 78%+ of votes per academic research), DAI depeg events, and USDS freeze function controversy. No SEC/CFTC enforcement actions exist. USDS supply grew ~86% to ~$9.86B through 2025.","timeline":[{"date":"2017-12-18","event":"DAI stablecoin launches on Ethereum mainnet","source":"coindesk.com","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/08/27/makerdao-is-now-sky-as-7b-crypto-lender-rolls-out-new-stablecoin-governance-token"},{"date":"2019-04-01","event":"OpenZeppelin discovers critical DSChief governance vulnerability ($100M at risk)","source":"openzeppelin.com","source_url":"https://blog.openzeppelin.com/makerdao-critical-vulnerability"},{"date":"2020-03-12","event":"Black Thursday: $8.32M in ETH collateral drained via zero-bid exploit","source":"coindesk.com","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2020/07/22/mempool-manipulation-enabled-theft-of-8m-in-makerdao-collateral-on-black-thursday-report"},{"date":"2020-10-01","event":"Flash loan used to manipulate MakerDAO governance vote","source":"theblock.co","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/82721/makerdao-issues-warning-after-a-flash-loan-is-used-to-pass-a-governance-vote"},{"date":"2021-07-01","event":"Maker Foundation dissolved; governance fully transferred to MKR holders","source":"coindesk.com","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/08/27/makerdao-is-now-sky-as-7b-crypto-lender-rolls-out-new-stablecoin-governance-token"},{"date":"2022-10-01","event":"Endgame Plan ratified via new Constitution","source":"theblock.co","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/223134/makerdao-endgame-plan-ratified-in-new-constitution"},{"date":"2022-10-28","event":"Co-founder Nikolai Mushegian dies; police find no foul play","source":"decrypt.co","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/113602/makerdao-co-founder-death-nikolai-mushegian"},{"date":"2023-02-24","event":"$28M Black Thursday class action dismissed by US judge","source":"coindesk.com","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/02/24/crypto-investors-28m-black-thursday-lawsuit-against-defi-giant-maker-dismissed-by-us-judge"},{"date":"2023-03-11","event":"DAI depegs during SVB/USDC crisis","source":"coindesk.com","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/03/11/dai-depegs-as-stablecoin-rout-plagues-crypto"},{"date":"2023-04-01","event":"Metronym settles Black Thursday subset for $1.16M","source":"blockworks.co","source_url":"https://blockworks.co/news/maker-settle-black-thursday"},{"date":"2023-07-20","event":"MakerDAO halts lending to Centrifuge pool after $2M+ default","source":"coindesk.com","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/07/20/makerdao-votes-to-halt-lending-to-tokenized-credit-pool-after-2m-loan-default"},{"date":"2023-09-01","event":"Christensen proposes NewChain (Solana fork); Vitalik sells ~$580K MKR","source":"theblock.co","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/248856/vitalik-sells-makerdao-stake-after-ceo-christensen-suggests-solana-based-blockchain"},{"date":"2024-08-27","event":"MakerDAO rebrands to Sky; USDS and SKY tokens launched","source":"coindesk.com","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/08/27/makerdao-is-now-sky-as-7b-crypto-lender-rolls-out-new-stablecoin-governance-token"},{"date":"2024-11-01","event":"Sky brand retention vote: ~20 voters, 4 entities hold ~80% of vote weight","source":"theblock.co","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/325096/just-four-entities-account-for-nearly-all-the-votes-to-keep-makerdaos-rebranding-to-sky"},{"date":"2025-05-01","event":"MKR-to-SKY conversion penalty mechanism introduced","source":"theblock.co","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/371401/sky-opens-vote-to-penalize-stragglers-delaying-mkr-to-sky-token-conversion"}]},"v":1}

   Verify offline (run on your own machine)

   python -m src.verify_decision 56937198-5e8b-4d57-ab13-c9cf61c5eff3copy
2. #2reviewby reviewerreviewer

   2026-06-08 23:09:23Z
   Score: 58 → 58 (no score change)
   The investigation page is broadly accurate and well-sourced, with no outright false claims and no link rot (two URLs redirect but content remains accessible; two return 403 paywalls but content is independently verifiable). The main accuracy issues are: the $6.65M bad debt figure for Black Thursday is contested across sources; the USDS freeze function claim overstates what was actually deployed at launch; the DSChief vulnerability date in the timeline is off by ~3 weeks; and the MKR penalty timeline conflates the May 2025 framework introduction (0% penalty) with the September 2025 penalty activation. The governance centralization section and Black Thursday/legal sections are the strongest parts of the page. Key coverage gaps are on-chain analytics, current financial health, and post-page governance developments.
   anchoranchored

   chain

   ●mainnet-betaslot 425,207,316

   sig

   312wbu9ZK52X…JD2SpyYNcopyexplorer ↗

   hash

   GMKsyhzHJw3Z…kbp5oT32copysha256 → base58

   verifying row…full verify ↗

   canonical bytes (1171 B) ▸

   {"actor":"reviewer","decided_at":"2026-06-08T23:09:22.998Z","decision":"review","investigation_id":"a19f2993-f03b-4b55-ba33-7f77dadac14c","new_score":58,"page_slug":"sky-makerdao","prev_score":58,"reason":"The investigation page is broadly accurate and well-sourced, with no outright false claims and no link rot (two URLs redirect but content remains accessible; two return 403 paywalls but content is independently verifiable). The main accuracy issues are: the $6.65M bad debt figure for Black Thursday is contested across sources; the USDS freeze function claim overstates what was actually deployed at launch; the DSChief vulnerability date in the timeline is off by ~3 weeks; and the MKR penalty timeline conflates the May 2025 framework introduction (0% penalty) with the September 2025 penalty activation. The governance centralization section and Black Thursday/legal sections are the strongest parts of the page. Key coverage gaps are on-chain analytics, current financial health, and post-page governance developments.","score_delta":0,"sequence_num":2,"submission_content_hash":null,"submission_id":null,"submission_kind":null,"submission_valence":null,"v":1}

   Verify offline (run on your own machine)

   python -m src.verify_decision f6513d2f-1d8e-4713-8172-81b79dd5a8a4copy
3. #3review reviseby judgejudge

   2026-06-08 23:09:23Z
   Score: 58 → 51 (-7)
   The page is broadly accurate and well-sourced with no outright false claims and no link rot. However, claim_findings[21] (USDS freeze function) materially overstates the deployment — Rune Christensen publicly clarified the freeze capability was not active at launch, only an upgrade path, which inverts the risk framing presented. Additionally, claim_findings[10] places the Black Thursday bad debt at $6.65M DAI, a figure that conflicts with primary sources citing $2.5M–$4.5M depending on methodology. The timeline entry for the DSChief vulnerability (claim_findings[33]) is dated April 1, 2019 but the OpenZeppelin disclosure places discovery at April 22–26, 2019. Two high-priority coverage gaps — on-chain governance analytics and current protocol financial health including RWA/T-bill composition — limit the page's usefulness for current risk assessment. The dismissed class action characterization (claim_findings[12]) omits that the dismissal allowed amendment and refiling, leaving legal status incomplete. These issues collectively warrant revision rather than approval, though no change to publication status or investigation standing is required.
   anchoranchored

   chain

   ●mainnet-betaslot 425,207,325

   sig

   5XX9GvnxMmQz…hZphpWSLcopyexplorer ↗

   hash

   FYfKknABc3sW…a9iom14Ecopysha256 → base58

   verifying row…full verify ↗

   canonical bytes (1512 B) ▸

   {"actor":"judge","decided_at":"2026-06-08T23:09:22.998Z","decision":"review_revise","investigation_id":"a19f2993-f03b-4b55-ba33-7f77dadac14c","new_score":51,"page_slug":"sky-makerdao","prev_score":58,"reason":"The page is broadly accurate and well-sourced with no outright false claims and no link rot. However, claim_findings[21] (USDS freeze function) materially overstates the deployment — Rune Christensen publicly clarified the freeze capability was not active at launch, only an upgrade path, which inverts the risk framing presented. Additionally, claim_findings[10] places the Black Thursday bad debt at $6.65M DAI, a figure that conflicts with primary sources citing $2.5M–$4.5M depending on methodology. The timeline entry for the DSChief vulnerability (claim_findings[33]) is dated April 1, 2019 but the OpenZeppelin disclosure places discovery at April 22–26, 2019. Two high-priority coverage gaps — on-chain governance analytics and current protocol financial health including RWA/T-bill composition — limit the page's usefulness for current risk assessment. The dismissed class action characterization (claim_findings[12]) omits that the dismissal allowed amendment and refiling, leaving legal status incomplete. These issues collectively warrant revision rather than approval, though no change to publication status or investigation standing is required.","score_delta":-7,"sequence_num":3,"submission_content_hash":null,"submission_id":null,"submission_kind":null,"submission_valence":null,"v":1}

   Verify offline (run on your own machine)

   python -m src.verify_decision 8dd51007-276b-4810-8618-caf502e4e305copy