MakerDAO, which builds the platform that issues the DAI stablecoin, saw a marked decline in 2022 revenue, as the DeFi protocol launched a significant pivot from crypto-native lending to the real-world asset market, according to a financial report issued by Steakhouse Financial. Total revenue decreased 42% to 65 million DAI ($65 million) in 2022 from 112 million DAI in 2021, the report said. This led to an 80% drop in the protocol’s net operating earnings to 19 million DAI last year from 90 million DAI in 2021. Operating expenses rose to 46 million DAI in 2022, more than double the figure reported the previous year.

MakerDAO’s decreased earnings followed the general crypto downturn of 2022 in which the market experienced a massive deleveraging cycle triggered by collapses of the Terra ecosystem and the FTX exchange — events that occurred amid a significant slowdown in the global financial markets and impacted both centralized and decentralized participants in crypto lending.

Maker's total balance shrunk to 5 billion DAI at the end of 2022, a 43% decline from the 9 billion at the end of the previous year, according to Steakhouse.