According to CryptoPotato, MakerDAO's MKR token has experienced significant growth, gaining 200% since the beginning of the year and reaching its highest level since May 2022 this week. The token has also gained around 50% in less than a month, driven by surging MakerDAO revenue. MakerDAO is currently the largest revenue-generating protocol in the DeFi ecosystem, with an annualized revenue of $193 million. This revenue comes from interest paid by DAI stablecoin minters from on-chain collateral and real-world asset (RWA) collateral such as U.S. Treasury bills.

DeFi researcher Thor Hartvigsen noted that Maker revenue depends primarily on the total market cap of DAI, as the collateral backing the stablecoin generates fees. If the DAI supply continues to grow, Maker revenue will likely increase, positively impacting the price. Additionally, the DAI Savings Rate (DSR) has been surging, incentivizing users to hold DAI rather than non-interest-bearing stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. The DSR is currently 5%, which is much higher than rates offered on DeFi platforms holding other stablecoins.

MakerDAO's roadmap includes an 'Endgame Plan' to reduce reliance on centralized collateral such as USDC and accrue more Ethereum, ultimately making DAI a free-floating asset. The long-term fundamentals for MakerDAO and DAI are solid, which is why the token is currently defying crypto market trends. At the time of writing, MKR was trading up 7% on the day at $1,510, having hit a 16-month high of $1,523 during early Asian trading on Sept. 28. The token has gained 18% since last weekend and 27% in the past fortnight, but remains down 76% from its May 2021 all-time high of $6,292, according to CoinGecko.