The Sky-backed stablecoin incubator’s inaugural class of eight projects marks the protocol’s biggest push yet to diversify beyond crypto-native yield sources.
Obex, the stablecoin incubator administered by Framework Ventures and backed by a $2.5 billion mandate from the Sky ecosystem, on Tuesday announced its inaugural cohort of eight projects and began deploying up to $1 billion in USDS across them.
The first class includes Maple, USDAI, Daylight, Centrifuge, Securitize, River, TVL Capital, and Better. All eight are either already part of, or intend to join, the Sky ecosystem, spanning structured credit, fintech lending, energy finance, AI infrastructure, tokenization, crypto capital markets, and real estate.
“Our industry is at an inflection point. We’re moving beyond circular DeFi yield sources and toward high-quality yield from private credit markets, fintech, energy infrastructure, AI CapEx, real estate, and other productive sectors,” said Parker Edwards, partner at Framework Ventures, in a press release viewed by The Defiant.
The deployment marks the first major move by Obex, which raised $37 million in November 2025 in a round co-led by Framework, LayerZero, and the Sky ecosystem. The Sky community separately voted to provide up to $2.5 billion worth of USDS for deployment into approved, incubated projects that graduate from the program.
The move comes amid strong momentum for Sky, the protocol formerly known as MakerDAO. USDS currently has roughly $11.6 billion in circulation, making it the third-largest stablecoin by market cap, according to Coingecko. Sky’s total value locked (TVL) surged 38% in March to $7.52 billion, making it the fourth-largest DeFi protocol. The protocol’s fixed 3.75% savings rate on sUSDS has attracted capital as DeFi yields elsewhere have compressed.
“Honestly, it’s the classic story of how Sky, just like Maker used to, always does better in bear markets because it’s just focused on a solid product that can be trusted to be stable and deliver good returns,” Sky founder Rune Christensen told The Defiant earlier this month.
In addition to receiving capital, cohort members plan to launch Sky-aligned products designed to bootstrap USDS usage within their ecosystems.
Tokenization Tailwind
The deployment arrives amid rapid growth in the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) sector. The sector tripled in value to approximately $26 billion over the past year, according to RWAxyz.
RWAs became Wall Street’s gateway to crypto in 2025, with onchain tokenized assets tripling to nearly $19 billion over the course of the year. The momentum has only accelerated into 2026, with RedStone projecting the market could reach $50-60 billion by year-end.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/obex-starts-deploying-usd1b-in-usds-into-mortgages-ai-hardware-and-solar-energy
