Happy Friday! Binance Bytes is an initiative by the Research team to provide a quick round-up of the week.

Highlights 🧵:

1/ MakerDAO has rebranded to Sky and is set to launch its new stablecoin, USDS along with its governance token, Sky on 18 Sep. This rebranding is part of MakerDAO’s "Endgame" overhaul, aimed at simplifying user experience and expanding its DeFi offerings. The new front-end application will include token activation rewards and the Sky Savings Rate. Existing DAI and MKR tokens can be voluntarily upgraded to USDS and SKY, respectively. Additionally, MakerDAO will introduce "Sky Stars," independent decentralized projects within its ecosystem, starting with the DAI-focused lending protocol, Spark.

2/ OpenSea received a Wells notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC), which classified NFTs sold on its platform as unregistered securities. Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, stated in a tweet, "By targeting NFTs, the SEC would stifle innovation on an even broader scale: hundreds of thousands of online artists and creatives are at risk, and many do not have the resources to defend themselves." OpenSea is prepared to stand their ground and has pledged US$5M to help cover legal fees for NFT creators and developers who receive similar notices.

3/ Stacks has launched the Nakamoto upgrade, designed to enhance transaction speeds and introduce sBTC, a Bitcoin-pegged asset secured by the Bitcoin network. Expected to be completed by mid-September, the upgrade will decouple the Stacks network’s block production from Bitcoin, increasing block production by 120 times. Validators on the network have a two-week window to update their software. Muneeb Ali, co-creator of Stacks, emphasized the significance of sBTC, which will enable Bitcoin to be utilized in DeFi activities such as lending and staking.