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Crypto and digital asset companies · Switzerland

Sky (MakerDAO)

sky.money ↗

Sky (ex-MakerDAO) issues USDS and DAI stablecoins backed by crypto and real-world assets.

Losing its protection
Assessed 24 July 2026 · Evidence as of 24 July 2026
The structural protection is eroding.
On the recordSince 24 July 2026 · Checkable from mid-2027 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: USDS pursuit of MiCA ART authorization in the EU and GENIUS Act supervised-stablecoin classification in the US
The call

Sky earns real, growing revenue from a stablecoin most people have never heard of, while regulators and token dilution decide how much of that revenue ever reaches SKY holders.

Sky is a lending platform where people can borrow stablecoins (USDS) by putting up crypto as collateral, earning the company roughly $419 million per year. This is harder for traditional stablecoin makers like Tether and Circle to copy because they run centralized, custodial systems and would lose their profit margins if they tried Sky's decentralized model. However, the token bet is getting shakier: the company cut payouts to SKY token holders from 75% of profits down to 7.5%, a small group of insiders controlled the recent rebranding vote, and new sister tokens (GROVE, SPK) have crashed hard after launch, suggesting the ecosystem is spreading itself too thin. The biggest wild card is whether Sky can get official regulatory permission to operate USDS in Europe and the United States by mid-2027; without it, regulators could squeeze the business.

Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. AI mostly helps Sky, automating risk models and RWA underwriting inside the protocol, not replacing what it does. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Tether and Circle. Tether (~59% share) and Circle (~24% share) already dominate stablecoins, leaving Sky's USDS a small, yield-paying alternative. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. USDS pays yield and stays non-custodial, something Tether and Circle can't copy without cutting into their own profit margins.
What would change this call
Whether USDS gains MiCA ART authorization in any EU state by Q4 2026. Shows if regulators will let Sky's decentralized model operate legally in the EU.
Combined USDS+DAI supply share versus Ethena's USDe and Open USD over next two quarters. Shows whether Sky is losing stablecoin market share to newer decentralized rivals.
Outcome of the Kneupper & Covey investigation into the WBTC forced-liquidation proposal. Shows whether governance disputes could disrupt treasury or protocol stability.
Key numbers
  • $419M annualized revenue run-rate (June 2026)
  • $13B combined USDS+DAI supply (June 2026)
  • TVL fell to $6.12B from $7.5B (July 2026)
Named risks
  • USDS lacks MiCA ART authorization in EU and GENIUS Act supervision in US as of May 2026. Severity: high
  • Governance concentrated among four entities that controlled the 2024 rebrand vote. Severity: medium
  • Ecosystem token dilution and volatility, GROVE fell 49-64% within 8 days of July 2026 launch. Severity: high
  • SKY buyback allocation cut from 75% to 7.5% of surplus, reducing token holder value capture. Severity: medium
  • Legal investigation into WBTC forced-liquidation governance proposal ongoing as of April 2026. Severity: low
Rivals, as read in July 2026
RivalDirectionEvidence
TethercontestingTether holds majority of overall stablecoin market but can't copy Sky's yield model without cutting its own margin, as of 2026-06
CirclecontestingCircle's USDC is GENIUS Act supervised while USDS is not, giving Circle a regulatory edge as of 2026-05
Ethena (USDe)gaining onSky's USDS overtook Ethena's USDe as largest decentralized-protocol stablecoin per mid-2026 ranking
Open Standard (Open USD)contestingNew consortium-backed OUSD launched June 30, 2026 with zero-fee model targeting incumbents and decentralized issuers alike
Questions people ask
Is Sky (formerly MakerDAO) profitable?
Yes by protocol-surplus terms. Sky reported $123.79M gross revenue and $46-61M protocol surplus in Q1 2026, then a record $419.08M annualized revenue run-rate in June 2026, with full-year 2026 revenue projected at $611M (company-reported).
Who owns Sky (MakerDAO)?
Sky has no traditional owner; it is governed by holders of the SKY token, which replaced MKR at a fixed 1:24,000 ratio in the August 2024 rebrand. Governance is concentrated: four entities cast nearly all decisive votes in the 2024 rebrand vote, per The Block, November 8, 2024.
What is Sky's biggest competitor?
Tether (~59% stablecoin share) and Circle (~24% share) dominate the overall market, but they can't copy Sky's decentralized, yield-paying model without hurting their own margins. Among decentralized peers, Ethena's USDe and the new Open USD (launched June 30, 2026) are the closer rivals.
Could AI replace Sky (MakerDAO)?
Not directly. AI can automate risk modeling, collateral monitoring, and RWA underwriting inside Sky, but the protocol's moat is on-chain trust infrastructure and DeFi integrations (Aave, Curve, Morpho), not a workflow AI can substitute. Sky is also a capital allocator into AI data-center financing via Obex, as of March 2026.
Is it safe to build on or hold SKY tokens?
Riskier than the underlying protocol suggests. Governance cut the SKY buyback allocation from 75% to 7.5% of surplus on March 14, 2026, and the sister GROVE token crashed 49-64% within 8 days of its July 6, 2026 launch amid dilution concerns, with 2.1B of 7B ecosystem tokens still unscheduled.
Is USDS (Sky's stablecoin) regulated?
Not fully. As of May 2026, USDS is MiCA ART-eligible in the EU but has not obtained ART authorization in any member state, and it is not GENIUS Act-supervised in the US like USDC, leaving regulatory gaps versus Circle's USDC.
Timeline
  • 2026-07-14GROVE token down 49-64% from all-time high within 8 days of launch on dilution fears
  • 2026-07-10Sky reports record $419.08M annualized revenue run-rate, FY2026 projected at $611M
  • 2026-07-06GROVE token launches with 10B fixed supply, listed on Coinbase, KuCoin, Bybit, Bitrue
  • 2026-06-30Rival consortium launches Open USD (OUSD) targeting Tether and Circle market share
  • 2026-05-11Crypto.com completes forced conversion of DAI to USDS, finishing major CEX migration
  • 2026-04-29Sky reports record Q1 2026 gross revenue of $123.79M and $46M protocol surplus
  • 2026-03-14Governance cuts SKY token buyback allocation from 75% to 7.5% of surplus, prioritizes $150M Solvency Reserve
  • 2025-06Spark launches SPK token with 10B genesis supply
  • 2025-05Endgame governance transition completes with formal retirement of MKR token
  • 2024-08-27MakerDAO rebrand to Sky announced, launching USDS and SKY tokens
Revision history
24 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
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