DAI (MakerDAO) — Price, Peg & Arbitrage Tracker

DAI uses three mechanisms: (1) Collateralization ratio: users must lock >150% in ETH/WBTC to mint DAI — over-collateral buffer absorbs price swings. (2) Stability fees: interest rates on DAI vaults are adjusted by MakerDAO governance to control supply. (3) DAI Savings Rate (DSR): incentivizes users to hold DAI by offering yield, reducing circulating supply when peg is below $1.00. When DAI trades below $1.00, arbitrageurs can buy cheap DAI and repay their vaults at a profit.

For DeFi specifically, DAI is preferred because it has no centralized counterparty that can freeze funds or be shut down by regulators. USDT and USDC can be blacklisted (Tether and Circle can freeze specific addresses). DAI cannot be frozen. However, DAI has smart contract risk — bugs in MakerDAO contracts could affect the system. For pure arbitrage (held briefly), all three are similarly risky. For long-term DeFi collateral, many protocols prefer DAI.

The DAI Savings Rate (DSR) is the yield MakerDAO pays to DAI depositors who lock DAI in the DSR contract. In 2026, the DSR fluctuates based on MakerDAO governance votes and market conditions — historically ranging from 1% to 15% APY. When DSR is high, idle arbitrage DAI can earn significant yield. Check the current DSR at app.sky.money (formerly app.makerdao.com).

Yes. When DAI trades at $0.998 and USDT trades at $1.001 on different exchanges, the $0.003 spread can be captured: buy DAI (cheap), use it in a pool or swap to USDT where USDT is priced higher. More commonly, DAI arbitrage involves the MakerDAO Peg Stability Module (PSM): swap USDC → DAI at exactly 1:1 when DAI trades above $1.00 (sell DAI for profit) or swap DAI → USDC at 1:1 when DAI trades below $1.00 (buy cheap DAI). The PSM provides near-zero risk stablecoin arbitrage.