Rune Christensen on How AI Agents Are Powering Institutional DeFi at Sky
Speakers
Rune Christensen — Director of Sky Frontier Foundation, Co-founder of Sky (formerly MakerDAO)
— Chopping Block co-host
Summary
- Sky (formerly MakerDAO) has rebranded and is pivoting to "AI Agents" to manage DeFi risk and governance efficiency.
- The protocol's stablecoin, USDS, doubled in supply last year and is projected to double again in 2026.
- Sky generated over $90M in profits, utilized for token buybacks, with expectations for profits to double in the coming year.
- The protocol is aggressively integrating Real World Assets (RWA), with collateral currently backed by assets from BlackRock, BNY Mellon, and Janus Henderson.
- Christensen argues that "Blue Chip DeFi" projects with actual revenue are separating from speculative "noise," marking a maturation point for the industry.
Trade Ideas
Christensen opens by stating "crypto is really getting more and more institutionalized" and notes that large players like BlackRock are integrating with DeFi. While not explicitly named, Coinbase is the primary custodian and infrastructure partner for the institutions mentioned (specifically BlackRock). If the macro trend is "institutionalization" and the migration of traditional assets on-chain, Coinbase is the inevitable infrastructure beneficiary that facilitates these institutional flows. LONG. A bet on the "institutionalization" thesis Rune describes. Sky's USDS stablecoin technically competes with USDC (which generates revenue for Coinbase), so aggressive growth of USDS could cannibalize Coinbase's interest income.
Rune explicitly states that Sky's USDS stablecoin is backed by assets from "BlackRock, BNY Mellon, and Janus Henderson," and mentions a specific deal with Janus Henderson for a "tokenized CLO." Sky is acting as a massive liquidity funnel, moving billions of dollars from on-chain stablecoins into traditional financial instruments (Treasuries, CLOs). As Sky projects USDS supply to "double again" in 2026, this capital flows directly into the custody and management of these specific traditional finance partners, generating fee revenue and validating their digital asset strategies. LONG. These firms are the "picks and shovels" for Sky's institutional RWA (Real World Asset) expansion. Regulatory crackdowns on stablecoin issuers or a failure of the Sky protocol (smart contract risk) would halt these inflows.
