MakerDAO [MKR] Token Underperforms Rivals Despite Growing Utility

MakerDAO [MKR] was one of the top DeFi projects during the 2021 bull run. Fast-forward to the present, and the DeFi segment is more saturated

MakerDAO (MKR) was among the top decentralized finance (DeFi) projects during the 2021 bull run. However, as the DeFi space becomes more saturated with newer projects, competition has intensified. So, how has MakerDAO been faring within this changing landscape?

According to a recent ranking of dApps by weekly fees generated, MakerDAO managed to squeeze into the top 10. This served as a key observation, highlighting that the platform was still experiencing a decent level of utility.

Over the past two years, the DeFi protocol’s fees have seen impressive growth. To put things into perspective, MakerDAO daily fees averaged less than $30,000 in October 2022. But daily fees embarked on an upward trajectory, with the highest recorded figure occurring at $1.19 million on 8 April 2024.

Source: DeFiLlama

The 22nd of 22 November marked a significant milestone for MakerDAO fees. This was because it was the first day that dApp fees surged above $1 million in the second half of 2024.

Other metrics also confirmed growing dApp activity. For instance, token volume surged from less than $40 million to $356 million over the last four weeks. It averaged over $200 million in the last three days.

Source: DeFiLlama

MakerDAO’s total value locked (TVL) has also been in recovery mode for the past few weeks. It has so far gained by $1.5 billion from its lowest point in October this year.

Will MKR benefit?

The surge in volume, TVL, and fees were clear indications that MakerDAO utility is growing with the recent market excitement. However, this growth has hardly reflected on its MKR token.

So far in 2024, MKR has been mostly bearish. It fell to a 12-month low of $1,006 on 25 October. It has since bounced back by 61% to reach its press time price tag of $1,630.

Source: TradingView

Throughout the year, most of its top rivals have more than doubled from their lowest 2024 prices. This suggests that MakerDAO has been underperforming.

In other words, it could be on the lineup for relatively undervalued tokens with a lot of upside potential.

MKR’s surge so far this year suggests that accumulation has been taking place at its recent bottom range. Nevertheless, demand has been relatively weak, but this could change as liquidity rotation continues.