Share this article
MakerDAO’s MKR Soars 28% in a Week as Token Buyback Scheme Goes Live
The lending platform is on track to remove some $7 million of MKR governance tokens from the market in the next month, according to blockchain data.
Updated Jul 21, 2023, 4:43 p.m. Published Jul 21, 2023, 4:33 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Maker (MKR), the governance token of $5.3 billion decentralized finance (DeFi) lender MakerDAO, surged to near a one-year high price Friday following the introduction of a token buyback program.
MKR briefly rose above $1,200 early Friday for the first time since last August, then pared some of its gains to change hands at around $1,148. The token is up 28% over the past week, significantly outperforming the 4.6% decline of the CoinDesk Market Index, which tracks the broader crypto market’s performance.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The price action occurred as the lending protocol activated a token buyback scheme on Wednesday, removing MKR supply from the market. The so-called Smart Burn Engine periodically allocates excess DAI stablecoins from Maker’s surplus buffer to purchase MKR from a UniSwap pool, a governance proposal explains.
The program was deployed earlier this month, and it went live Wednesday once the surplus buffer exceeded $50 million.
In the last 24 hours, the protocol bought back some $230,000 worth of MKR, according to blockchain data by Etherscan. At this pace, the protocol is on track to purchase about $7 million in tokens in the next month.
The token’s total market capitalization is about $1 billion, so the buyback would reduce 0.7% of the supply per month at current prices.
Maker is one of the largest and oldest DeFi lending protocols, and also issues the $4.6 billion DAI stablecoin. It is led by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), in which MKR holders vote on governance proposals.
The protocol has been increasingly investing DAI’s reserve assets in traditional investment products such as bank loans and government bonds to earn revenue from yields. MakerDAO also is undergoing a major overhaul that includes upgrading the DAI and MKR tokens, and breaking up its structure into smaller, autonomous organizations called SubDAOs that could issue their own tokens.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Crypto ETFs with staking can supercharge returns but they may not be for everyone
From yield potential to custody risks, here’s how direct ETH and staking funds compare for different investor goals.
What to know:
- Investors can now choose between owning ether directly or buying shares in a staking ETF that earns rewards on their behalf.
- While staking ETFs offers yield, they come with risks and less control than holding ETH in an exchange or wallet.
- Grayscale’s Ethereum staking ETF recently paid $0.083178 per share, yielding $3.16 in rewards on a $1,000 investment.
Top Stories
