The Endgame Infrastructure Migration is the operational execution phase of MakerDAO's transition to the Sky ecosystem. This process involves the deployment of new smart contracts for the SKY governance token and USDS stablecoin, the launch of migration contracts that facilitate a seamless upgrade path from MKR and DAI, and the release of updated frontend and backend tooling. For integrators, this is not a simple rebranding; it is a stateful migration where legacy tokens interact with new contracts, requiring careful coordination of transaction flows, address updates, and user communication.
Protocols
Endgame Infrastructure Migration Operations
Operational steps and tooling releases required for the MKR/DAI to SKY/USDS transition, including contract migrations, frontend updates, and backend system changes. Crucial for integrators navigating the rebranding.
introduction
ENDGAME MIGRATION OPERATIONS
Introduction
Operational scope of the MKR/DAI to SKY/USDS transition, covering the technical migration path, tooling releases, and integration requirements for exchanges, wallets, and custodians.
Operationally, the migration centers on the Migration contract suite, which allows users to swap MKR for 24,000 SKY and DAI for USDS at a 1:1 ratio. This introduces a persistent, two-way token ecosystem where legacy and new assets coexist. Infrastructure providers must update their systems to track both token pairs, monitor migration contract balances, and handle the new freeze functionality within USDS. The Sky protocol also introduces the Sky Savings Rate (SSR) and Seal Engine, which replace the DSR and surplus auction mechanisms, requiring backend logic updates for yield calculations and token supply tracking.
The operational risk profile shifts during this migration. Exchanges and custodians face a critical decision: support a hard conversion or maintain dual support for legacy and new tokens. Wallet providers must update their RPC endpoints and token lists to resolve the new contract addresses correctly. Keepers and arbitrageurs need to re-establish their operational infrastructure to interact with the new liquidation engine and PSM contracts. A failure to execute these operational steps in a timely manner can lead to fragmented liquidity, user confusion, and integration downtime. Chainscore Labs provides migration readiness reviews, helping teams audit their upgrade paths, validate integration logic against the new contracts, and ensure a smooth transition for their users.
ENDOGAME INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSITION
Migration Quick Facts
Operational facts about the MKR/DAI to SKY/USDS migration to help integrators, exchanges, and protocol teams assess impact and plan upgrade paths.
| Area | What changes | Who is affected | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
Token Contracts | New SKY and USDS token contracts replace MKR and DAI at new addresses | Exchanges, wallets, custodians, DeFi protocols, data aggregators | Verify canonical contract addresses against official Sky governance records before integrating |
Upgrade Mechanism | MKR and DAI tokens are upgradeable to SKY and USDS via migration contracts | All MKR and DAI holders, vault operators, liquidity providers | Audit migration contract interfaces and test upgrade flows in a non-production environment |
Frontend Infrastructure | Rebranded frontend applications with new domain names and updated smart contract interactions | Frontend providers, wallet integrators, analytics dashboards | Update bookmarks, API endpoints, and verify TLS certificates for new domains |
Backend Systems | Indexers, keepers, and monitoring tools must track new contract addresses and events | Keeper operators, data indexers, risk monitoring services | Reconfigure event listeners and indexing pipelines to include new contract deployments |
Stablecoin Peg Mechanisms | PSM and stability modules transition from DAI to USDS with equivalent peg-keeping parameters | Arbitrageurs, liquidity providers, lending protocols | Verify PSM contract addresses and USDC reserve balances post-migration before resuming arbitrage operations |
Savings Rate Contracts | DSR transitions to SSR with new contract address; sDAI replaced by sUSDS | Yield aggregators, lending protocols, institutional savers | Update integration logic to point to SSR contract and confirm rate propagation mechanics match DSR behavior |
Governance Token | MKR replaced by SKY as governance token; existing MKR governance weight transfers via upgrade | Governance delegates, protocol politicians, voting interfaces | Confirm SKY voting power matches upgraded MKR balance and test delegate assignment on new contracts |
Vault and CDP Infrastructure | Existing vaults remain operational; debt denominated in DAI transitions to USDS accounting | Vault operators, collateral managers, liquidation bots | Verify vault debt is correctly denominated in USDS and test collateralization ratio calculations post-migration |
technical-context
ENDGAME TRANSITION INFRASTRUCTURE
Migration Architecture and Technical Mechanism
The technical architecture enabling the MakerDAO-to-Sky rebranding, including the upgradeable token contracts, conversion modules, and the operational sequencing required for a state-preserving migration.
The Endgame Infrastructure Migration is not a simple cosmetic rebranding but a stateful protocol transition that introduces new upgradeable token contracts for SKY (the governance token) and USDS (the stablecoin), alongside a set of migration contracts that manage the bidirectional conversion of legacy MKR and DAI. The core technical mechanism relies on a Migration contract suite that escrows legacy tokens and mints equivalent amounts of the new tokens at a governance-defined conversion rate. For DAI to USDS, this is a 1:1 conversion. For MKR to SKY, the contract enforces a fixed ratio of 1:24,000, meaning 1 MKR is converted into 24,000 SKY tokens. This architecture ensures that the total value locked (TVL) and economic continuity are preserved on-chain without requiring users to manually sell and re-buy assets.
The migration is designed to be permissionless and permanent, with the conversion contracts intended to remain active indefinitely, allowing users to upgrade at any time. However, the introduction of upgradeability in the new SKY and USDS token contracts represents a significant architectural shift from the immutable DAI and MKR contracts. This means a governance vote or a multisig action could theoretically alter the token logic in the future. For integrators, this requires a fundamental shift in risk assessment: the new tokens carry different trust assumptions. The operational impact is immediate for exchanges, wallets, and custodians who must now monitor for Upgraded events on the new proxy contracts and maintain compatibility with both legacy and new token interfaces during the extended migration window. Backend systems must be capable of handling parallel balance queries across the old and new contracts to accurately reflect user positions.
A critical technical detail for builders is the behavior of the Dai Savings Rate (DSR) and its successor, the Sky Savings Rate (SSR). The migration is not automatic for DAI held in the DSR contract; users must explicitly withdraw their DAI from the DSR and deposit the newly converted USDS into the SSR module. Similarly, sDAI (staked DAI) holders must unstake their sDAI to DAI before migrating to USDS and then into sUSDS. This multi-step process introduces operational friction and potential gas inefficiencies that frontend providers must abstract away to prevent user error. The Migration contracts are designed to batch these steps where possible, but integrators must carefully sequence transactions to avoid intermediate states where assets are unproductive. Chainscore Labs can review a protocol's migration transaction flow to ensure it minimizes gas costs and eliminates race conditions that could leave user funds stranded between the legacy and new systems.
MIGRATION IMPACT MATRIX
Affected Systems and Actors
Exchange and Custodian Impact
Exchanges and custodians face the highest operational lift. They must support new SKY and USDS token contracts, manage the dual-token transition period, and update internal ledgers, deposit/withdrawal paths, and transaction monitoring.
Critical actions:
- Integrate new token contracts for USDS and SKY.
- Support the upgrade wrapper contracts for MKR to SKY and DAI to USDS migration.
- Update address lists, user interfaces, and internal risk scoring for the new assets.
- Plan for a co-existence period where both old and new tokens trade.
Risk: Failure to complete integration before the governance-mandated cutoff risks stranding user funds or forcing manual reconciliation. Chainscore can provide an end-to-end migration readiness review, including testnet integration validation and operational runbook assessment.
implementation-impact
MIGRATION SCOPE
Implementation Impact by System
The Endgame Infrastructure Migration is not a single contract upgrade but a coordinated transition across frontends, smart contracts, and backend services. Each system has distinct failure modes and verification requirements.
01
Frontend and API Rebranding
All user-facing interfaces must redirect from legacy MKR/DAI endpoints to SKY/USDS equivalents. This includes updating token icons, ticker symbols, and documentation links. Integrators should verify that their UI does not cache old token metadata, as stale display data is a common source of user confusion and support tickets during rebranding events. Chainscore can review your frontend integration for hardcoded strings and deprecated endpoints.
02
Smart Contract Migration Paths
The transition introduces new token contracts for SKY and USDS alongside migration contracts that facilitate the upgrade from MKR and DAI. Exchanges and custodians must integrate these new contract addresses and support the deposit/withdrawal logic for both legacy and new tokens during the coexistence period. Failure to correctly handle the migration contract interface can result in stuck user funds. Chainscore can audit your smart contract integration logic and migration flow.
03
Keeper Network Reconfiguration
Auction keepers for Surplus, Debt, and Collateral sales must be updated to interact with the new SKY token for surplus auctions and the new USDS for system coin operations. Keeper operators need to reconfigure gas strategies, contract addresses, and profit calculation logic. A keeper running against the old MKR auction contract after the migration will simply fail to participate, leading to a loss of revenue and potential system auction delays. Chainscore can provide a keeper migration readiness review.
04
Oracle and Price Feed Dependencies
Downstream protocols that consume MakerDAO oracle data must update their price feed mappings to track SKY and USDS rather than MKR and DAI. While the underlying price source may remain the same, the on-chain feed contract addresses will change. Lending protocols and aggregators using these feeds for collateral valuation or liquidation triggers risk using stale or deprecated price sources if they do not execute this update in lockstep with the migration. Chainscore can map your oracle dependencies and validate feed transitions.
05
Governance and Spell Execution
The governance process shifts from MKR-weighted voting to SKY-weighted voting. Governance tooling, delegate platforms, and spell-crafting infrastructure must be updated to recognize the new token. A spell that is crafted correctly but executed against the old governance contract will fail silently or revert. Integrators who track Executive Votes to anticipate parameter changes must switch their monitoring to the new governance contracts. Chainscore can verify your governance monitoring pipeline.
06
PSM and Stablecoin Liquidity
The Peg Stability Module will be upgraded to manage USDS instead of DAI. Arbitrageurs and exchanges that rely on the PSM for deep stablecoin liquidity must redirect their swap logic to the new PSM contract. A failure to update the contract address will result in transaction failures during critical arbitrage windows, potentially causing a temporary peg deviation. Chainscore can review your PSM integration and help you test the new swap paths in a simulation environment.
ENDGAME INFRASTRUCTURE MIGRATION
Operational Risk Matrix
Operational risks, affected actors, and required actions during the MKR/DAI to SKY/USDS transition for integrators, operators, and governance participants.
| Area | What changes | Who is affected | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
Token Contract Migration | New SKY and USDS token contracts replace MKR and DAI at new addresses. Old tokens may continue to exist but are deprecated in the Endgame ecosystem. | Exchanges, wallets, custodians, DeFi protocols, data aggregators | Integrate new token contracts. Update address lists, token logos, and naming conventions. Verify compatibility with existing proxy and vault contracts. |
Frontend and API Updates | Official frontends transition to Sky-branded interfaces. API endpoints, SDKs, and subgraphs may change paths or deprecate old queries. | Frontend operators, arbitrage bots, keeper networks, analytics dashboards | Audit all API dependencies. Migrate to new endpoints. Test keeper and bot logic against updated contract ABIs and event signatures. |
Vault and CDP Engine Compatibility | Core DSS contracts (Vat, Cat, Jug) may be upgraded or redeployed. Existing vaults may require migration to remain compatible with USDS and new risk parameters. | Vault operators, lending protocols, yield aggregators | Verify vault health after spell execution. Prepare migration transactions if required. Monitor debt ceiling and stability fee changes on new deployments. |
Governance Token Transition | MKR governance rights migrate to SKY. Governance contracts, voting portals, and delegation systems are updated. MKR holders must migrate to participate in future votes. | Governance delegates, MKR holders, DAO tooling platforms | Migrate MKR to SKY using official contracts. Update governance monitoring tools to track new SKY voting contracts. Verify delegate status post-migration. |
Savings Rate Contract Migration | The Dai Savings Rate (DSR) module is replaced or augmented by the Sky Savings Rate (SSR). sDAI may be deprecated or wrapped into a new yield-bearing token. | Yield aggregators, lending protocols, institutional DAI holders | Update yield strategy contracts to point to the new SSR module. Handle sDAI-to-new-token migration logic. Verify interest rate propagation from governance spells. |
PSM and Peg Stability Operations | The Peg Stability Module is reconfigured to support USDS instead of DAI. USDC reserves and swap fee parameters may be reset or migrated. | Arbitrageurs, exchanges, large stablecoin holders | Update PSM interaction contracts. Monitor new USDS/USDC liquidity depth. Verify tin/tout fee parameters post-migration before executing large swaps. |
Oracle and Price Feed Dependencies | Oracle security model and feed addresses may change. SKY/USD and USDS/USD feeds are deployed. Downstream protocols relying on DAI or MKR feeds must update. | Lending protocols, derivatives platforms, keeper networks | Update oracle consumer contracts to read new feed addresses. Verify heartbeat and deviation parameters. Test liquidation logic against new price feed identifiers. |
Keeper Network Operations | Auction contracts (Flip, Flop, Flap) may be replaced or upgraded. Keeper bots must integrate new auction interfaces and token types. | Keeper operators, liquidation bot maintainers | Redeploy keeper bots with updated auction contract ABIs. Test bid, dent, and tend logic against new auction types. Model gas costs and profitability with new token pairs. |
ENDGAME TRANSITION PREPARATION
Migration Readiness Checklist
A structured checklist for exchanges, wallets, custodians, and DeFi integrators preparing for the MKR/DAI to SKY/USDS transition. Each item identifies a critical readiness signal, explains why it matters, and specifies the artifact or confirmation that indicates operational readiness.
What to check: Verify that all integration points with MKR, DAI, sDAI, and DSS contracts are updated to support the new SKY, USDS, and sUSDS token contracts. This includes token transfer logic, balance queries, allowance checks, and event parsing.
Why it matters: The Endgame transition introduces new token contracts with potentially different interfaces, events, and decimal handling. Systems that hardcode MKR or DAI contract addresses will fail after migration unless updated.
Readiness signal: Successful integration test suite execution against the new token contracts on a testnet deployment. Confirm that deposit, withdrawal, and transfer flows produce the expected on-chain state changes and emit the correct events. Teams should also verify that any proxy or multisig contracts interacting with the legacy tokens have upgrade paths that support the new contract addresses.
resource-links
MIGRATION SOURCES
Canonical Resources and Monitoring
Use canonical MakerDAO and Sky resources to verify the live state of the DAI/MKR to USDS/SKY migration before changing production systems. Treat third-party token lists, dashboards, and social posts as secondary until reconciled against governance, deployed contracts, and official documentation.
06
Production Monitoring for Migration Failure Modes
Set up alerts for migration-specific operational signals: failed conversion transactions, abnormal approval patterns, token-symbol mismatches, unsupported deposits, stale price or rate displays, paused modules, savings-rate discrepancies, and liquidity fragmentation between DAI and USDS venues. Custodians and exchanges should also monitor reconciliation breaks between internal ledgers and on-chain balances after ticker, contract, or denomination changes. For protocols using DAI or USDS as collateral, add checks for oracle availability, collateral factor configuration, liquidation logic, and bridge-specific token mappings before treating migrated assets as production-safe.
Chains We Build On
Looking to build on a specific blockchain?
We build smart contracts, DeFi applications, wallets, tokenization platforms, and blockchain infrastructure across the major ecosystems teams choose today. That includes Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, Avalanche, Solana, Sui, Aptos, Hedera, Stellar, and NEAR, with support for additional EVM and non-EVM networks based on your product requirements.
EVM ecosystems
- Ethereum
- Arbitrum
- Optimism
- Polygon
- Avalanche
- Cronos
Non-EVM ecosystems
- Solana
- Sui
- Aptos
- Hedera
- Stellar
- NEAR
Additional ecosystems
- Polkadot
- Cosmos
- TON
- Cardano
- Algorand
- Tempo
Also available for Base, appchains, custom EVM networks, and cross-chain product architecture.
MIGRATION OPERATIONS
Frequently Asked Questions
Common operational questions for exchanges, wallets, custodians, and DeFi integrators managing the transition from MKR/DAI to SKY/USDS.
The migration involves deploying new SKY and USDS token contracts, upgrading frontend interfaces to reflect the rebrand, updating backend systems to index new contract addresses, and ensuring that all downstream integrations recognize the new tokens. Key operational touchpoints include:
- Token contract deployment: New SKY governance token and USDS stablecoin contracts replace MKR and DAI at the canonical addresses.
- Frontend rebrand: All user-facing interfaces must route to the new token contracts and display updated branding.
- Backend indexing: Indexers, subgraphs, and analytics pipelines must add new contract addresses and map historical state where applicable.
- Governance continuity: Executive Votes and spell execution must transition to operate on the new token contracts.
Teams should verify the current deployment status against official MakerDAO/Sky governance announcements before committing engineering resources.
Trusted by Industry Leaders
Delivering blockchain solutions for 5+ years.
We have partnered with 50+ leading DeFi protocols, NFT ecosystems, and fintech innovators to build secure, scalable, and capital-efficient blockchain products.
Selected Partners & Clients
“I've been working with Chainscore Labs for last 3+ years, they've consistently delivered with strong ownership across multiple projects. The team is reliable and detail-oriented.”
L
Lee Erswell
CEO, Telos Foundation
how to get started
How to get started?
If you're looking for blockchain integration, ChainScore Labs has 5+ years of experience helping teams build and integrate exchanges, wallets, smart contracts, tokenization solutions, and protocol-connected products, we can help you choose the right path, integrate securely, and get to production faster. Our team consists of experienced blockchain developers and architects who can help you with your blockchain integration needs.
01
Exploration & Strategy
Define your product goals and choose the right blockchain architecture for your use case.
02
Architecture & Design
Design the smart contracts, tokenomics, and security parameters of your system.
03
Development & Integration
Build and integrate with wallets, oracles, and front-end dApps for a seamless experience.
04
Security & Launch
Comprehensive audits followed by a risk-managed mainnet deployment to protect your users.
Explore More Solutions
Discover our
blockchain development services.
We build production-grade blockchain solutions for top-tier projects across DeFi and Web3.
Book a Call
Start a build
Need a blockchain engineering team?
Send the project context and we will respond with next steps, scope questions, and a practical path to delivery.