Sky, formerly known as MakerDAO, plans to launch its decentralized stablecoin, USDS, on Solana using the Wormhole interoperability protocol.
Rune Christensen, Sky’s founder, announced the move during the ongoing Solana Breakpoint conference on Sept. 20.
According to DefiLlama data, Sky is the sixth-largest DeFi protocol, with a total value of assets locked on the platform of $5.5 billion.
Solana expansion
In a post on the DeFi protocol’s governance forum, Christensen explained that this integration would spur rapid expansion and deep integration of Sky on Solana. He added that the protocol’s tokens SKY, USDS, and sUSDS will be bridged to Solana using Wormhole.
Christensen noted that while Solana isn’t yet as large as Ethereum, it has the potential for significant growth. He pointed out that DeFi primitives are already established on Solana, providing the foundation for expansion.
However, what’s missing is the decentralized stablecoin and features that Sky offers—native savings rates, token rewards, and the ability to deploy large-scale capital within trusted Solana protocols.
He acknowledged the challenges of integrating with Solana due to the differences between Ethereum Virtual Machine and Solana’s infrastructure. However, using Wormhole as a short-term solution allows Sky to build early momentum ahead of the full Solana SkyLink deployment.
Incentive program
Sky also plans to launch a short-term liquidity incentive program. This initiative will offer SKY tokens to DeFi integrators and liquidity providers on Solana, creating early network effects for the full SkyLink deployment.
According to Christensen, the temporary token incentive program will be managed by Accessibility Facilitators. This program will use existing incentive systems in major DeFi protocols on Solana. Input from both the Sky and Solana DeFi communities will guide the program.
He said that two key liquidity areas must be incentivized — USDS/USDC and USDS/sUSDS — to ensure that the stablecoin operates smoothly on Solana.
The incentive program will offer up to 2 million SKY tokens per week, but the Accessibility Facilitators are advised to use less once the initial phase is complete. These temporary rewards will end with the launch of Solana SkyLink and be replaced by Sky’s native token rewards — SKY, CLE, and SPK tokens.