In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Rune Christensen, founder of Sky (formerly MakerDAO), about how the protocol is connecting hundreds of billions in idle stablecoins to institutional-grade yield through its Sky Agent Network. Rune explains why Sky evolved from MakerDAO, how USDS offers a native 3.75% savings rate with no lock-ups or fees, and why the protocol generated $338 million in annualized revenue with $158 million in net profit during recent market volatility.

He walks through the Sky Agent Network enabling decentralized capital allocation across players like Spark, BlackRock, and Janus Henderson, why Sky deployed $1 billion into the first tokenized CLO, and how the protocol's seven-year track record makes it the only project institutions trust at scale. The conversation covers Sky's 74% USDS supply growth, why DeFi and TradFi will merge into one system, and how AI agents will drive the next phase of financial automation through blockchain-native stablecoins.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Intro

02:08 – Why Sky evolved from MakerDAO: rethinking DeFi for real-world scale

04:00 – Sky as infrastructure for global capital markets and capital formation

05:34 – How Sky Savings Rate works with 3.75% yield

07:06 – Sky Agent Network: decentralized businesses competing for best risk-adjusted returns

08:16 – Why Sky is different from Ethena and other yield-bearing stablecoins

11:49 – Spark protocol reaching $3 billion TVL as it grows in the lending market

14:03 – How real cash-flowing assets are coming onchain for the first time

18:32 – Why institutions like BlackRock and Janus Henderson work with Sky

27:18 – Sky’s Grove deploying $1 billion into first tokenized CLO by Janus Henderson and Centrifuge

30:10 – When DeFi and TradFi merge: stablecoins can act as super capital

34:13 – AI agents driving blockchain-native financial automation

37:35 – Sky's revenue: $338M annualized with $158M net profit during market volatility

39:05 – Growing stablecoin supply as the main opportunity ahead

50:18 – Rune's endgame: fully automating Sky through AI to finally step away

ESSENTIALS

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Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.