MakerDAO Weighs Ditching $390M of Gemini Dollars from DAI Reserve

Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform and stablecoin issuer MakerDAO could soon ditch $390 million of crypto exchange Gemini’s GUSD stablecoin from its reserves.

The protocol’s community is currently voting on a proposal to decrease the maximum amount of GUSD to $110 million from $500 million held in Maker’s DAI stablecoin reserve, called the Peg Stability Module (PSM).

Less than 24 hours before the vote’s end, roughly 94% of those who have already voted are in favor of the proposal to cut GUSD. However, a similar proposal in January saw a late rush of votes in favor of retaining GUSD, pushing that side to a razor-thin 50.85% majority.

The vote is significant for GUSD’s future, as Maker holds roughly 88% of the stablecoin’s $568 million circulating supply. Maker backs the value of the $4.5 billion DAI by holding cryptocurrencies such as Circle’s USDC and GUSD in the reserve, and increasingly by investing in real-world assets like government bonds.

Gemini – the crypto exchange founded and run by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and the issuer of GUSD – pays a 2% annual reward to MakerDAO for using the token as a reserve asset. The proposal, however, argued that the platform could enjoy better revenue opportunities, for example by investing in short-term U.S. Treasuries, which currently offer about a 5% yield. Read more: MakerDAO Paves Way for Additional $1.28B U.S. Treasury Purchase

“Reducing GUSD exposure could allow for better capital efficiency by deploying funds into higher revenue generating opportunities,” the proposal said.