Bio
Rune Christensen is the founder/co-founder of Sky — the decentralized finance protocol formerly known as MakerDAO — and one of the architects of decentralized stablecoins. He created Dai (now USDS under the Sky rebrand), one of DeFi's earliest and most widely used crypto-collateralized stablecoins, and authored the Endgame governance strategy that drove the transition from MakerDAO to the Sky brand. In 2026, the protocol operates under the Sky name with USDS as its primary stablecoin and SKY as its governance token.
Critical organizational distinction: Christensen is the founder/co-founder of a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Do not call him CEO of Sky or MakerDAO in the conventional corporate sense — the protocol is governed by SKY/MKR token holders via on-chain governance, not by a corporate CEO. His formal versus informal role in governance should be verified from current Sky governance materials.
Background & Education
Christensen is Danish. His specific educational background — including any university degrees or dates — is not independently confirmed from primary academic records for this profile; unverified details are omitted.
Founding MakerDAO
Christensen founded MakerDAO in the mid-2010s, with Single-Collateral Dai (SAI) launching in December 2017. Multi-Collateral Dai (DAI) launched in November 2019, enabling multiple types of collateral beyond ETH. The Maker Foundation — a centralized legal entity that bootstrapped the project — was subsequently dissolved as governance shifted to the Maker DAO. Do not describe the Maker Foundation as a currently active controlling entity.
How Sky/MakerDAO Works
The Sky Protocol (formerly Maker) is a set of Ethereum smart contracts allowing users to deposit crypto collateral and generate USDS (formerly DAI), an over-collateralized stablecoin. The system uses stability fees, liquidation mechanisms, and a Peg Stability Module to maintain USDS's soft peg to $1. Governance — including risk parameters, collateral onboarding, fee adjustments — is controlled by SKY token holders (formerly MKR holders) through on-chain voting. No single person or company controls the protocol.
Endgame & Sky Rebrand (2024–2025)
Christensen authored the Endgame plan, a sweeping governance restructuring designed to make the protocol more resilient and scalable. Endgame included the rebranding of DAI to USDS, MKR to SKY, and the overall protocol to Sky. It also introduced SubDAOs (called Stars) — including Spark (lending/savings) and others — and a Sky Savings Rate product. The Grove initiative focuses on institutional/real-world-asset lending and credit exposure.
Tokens
MKR and DAI continue to exist; the protocol introduced migration pathways to SKY and USDS. These are related but distinct assets — do not treat DAI and USDS as identical, or MKR and SKY as identical. Migration is optional; both token pairs coexist on-chain.
Founder Snapshot
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Rune Christensen |
| Primary Project/Company | Sky (formerly MakerDAO) |
| Founder Type | Founder / Co-Founder (verify from authoritative Sky/Maker history) |
| Current Role | Founder/contributor — verify formal 2026 governance role from sky.money |
| Protocol Governance | SKY token holders via on-chain voting |
| Primary Stablecoin | USDS (formerly DAI) |
| Governance Token | SKY (formerly MKR) |
| Primary Sector | Stablecoins, DeFi & DAO Governance |
| Information Checked | August 2026 |
Key Contributions
Dai / USDS Stablecoin
Created Dai, one of DeFi's first and most widely used decentralized, over-collateralized stablecoins — a model that demonstrated crypto-native monetary policy without centralized issuers.
MakerDAO / Sky Protocol
Founded the Maker protocol, which established core DeFi infrastructure for collateralized debt positions, on-chain risk governance, and community-controlled monetary parameters.
Endgame Governance Architecture
Authored Endgame — a multi-year governance restructuring that introduced SubDAOs, SKY/USDS migrations, and a new organizational model designed for long-term protocol resilience.
Real-World Asset Integration
Championed real-world asset (RWA) collateral as a core component of MakerDAO/Sky's strategy, bringing tokenized credit and treasury assets into the protocol's collateral mix.
DAO Governance Pioneer
MakerDAO's on-chain governance model, including executive voting, signal requests, and risk parameter management by token holders, influenced the design of DAO governance across DeFi.
Sources & Verification
Sources: sky.money · forum.sky.money · governance proposals and Endgame documentation. Information last checked: August 2026.
Profile at a glance
- Country
- Denmark
- Status
- Active
