Standard Chartered says the SKY token could rise fivefold by the end of 2028, setting a target that would value the digital asset at five times its current level. The bank describes Sky, the protocol formerly known as MakerDAO, as “DeFi’s federal bank.”

A fivefold increase means five times the starting price, or a 400% gain. It is a conditional forecast, not a guaranteed result or a statement about an outcome that has already occurred.

Standard Chartered’s SKY Price Target

Standard Chartered initiated coverage of Sky with a SKY price target of $0.325 by the end of 2028, compared with approximately $0.065 when its report was issued. The Block reported the forecast on September 11, 2026, in its coverage of the bank’s analysis: The Block.

The forecast depends on the value distributed to SKY holders increasing fivefold through growth in the Sky ecosystem and USDS. In practical terms, the model assumes that the value accruing to SKY holders would need to increase substantially before a comparable token-price rise could be supported.

The bank’s model also assumes that SKY staking yield—the reward paid to people who lock up their tokens—remains close to its report-time level of 4.2%. Standard Chartered identified slower-than-expected growth in yield-bearing stablecoins as the main risk to its projection.

The operating measures most directly connected to that model include growth in yield-bearing stablecoins, borrowing by Sky’s lending arms, the spread between borrowing rates and protocol rewards, and the size of the backstop buffer. Sky Governance’s decisions on rates and other protocol rules are also relevant to how the model’s assumptions compare with later conditions.

SKY recently traded near $0.063, with a market capitalization of about $1.48 billion, according to market data. The token’s reported price was slightly below the approximately $0.065 baseline used by the bank, leaving the $0.325 target materially above that level. Market data for the asset is available through CoinGecko.

Why the Bank Uses the “DeFi’s Federal Bank” Analogy

The Block attributed the “DeFi’s federal bank” description to Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research. Kendrick said Sky issues USDS, establishes governance rules and lends at wholesale rates, functions that he compared with those of a central bank.

USDS is a stablecoin, a crypto token designed to maintain a relatively stable value. Kendrick said the value distributed to SKY holders could increase fivefold by the end of 2028 and that, all else being equal, this could support a similar increase in the token’s price, The Block reported.

The comparison describes an economic function rather than a legal status. Sky does not hold a federal charter and does not have government backing. Its activities are separate from official banking institutions and do not give it a banking license.

Figures Behind the Forecast

According to figures attributed to Kendrick and reported by The Block, Sky’s three lending arms—Spark, Grove and Obex—had borrowed a combined $5.9 billion in USDS and paid a base interest rate of 3.8%. These were figures available at the time of the report and were not independently verified live balances.

The report placed aggregate Agent borrowing limits at $17.5 billion. If borrowing increased toward those limits while interest-rate spreads remained steady, income could grow by another twofold to threefold, according to Standard Chartered’s model.

The report also cited approximately $90 million in aggregate backstop capital, which serves as a safety cushion, and estimated that the amount could reach $150 million in about eight months. It identified a buffer threshold equal to 1.5% of outstanding USDS at which rewards and buybacks could potentially double.

How Sky’s Rewards Work

Sky Governance, the community responsible for voting on the protocol’s rules, sets the variable Sky Savings Rate. The rate is funded by the protocol’s aggregate surplus, while independent Agents do not directly set or pay it, according to Sky’s official explainer.

Sky uses a savings token called sUSDS. The token balance remains constant, while its redemption value in USDS increases over time. Holding sUSDS does not provide a claim on any particular Agent, borrower, collateral pool or strategy.

Several rates can be confused. Sky’s homepage recently displayed a Sky Savings Rate of 3.60% APY and a SKY Stake Rate of 4.45% APY. Both figures differed from the 4.2% staking-yield assumption used in Standard Chartered’s report.

Limits of the Available Evidence

The dollar target and fivefold multiplier come from Standard Chartered’s own model. However, the original Standard Chartered document was not obtained, and widely reported accounts do not fully identify every input used by the bank.

The model inputs should therefore be understood as Kendrick’s figures relayed through The Block, alongside unconfirmed reports about the full contents of the underlying report. This reflects a limit in the available evidence and does not establish that the bank omitted any information.

A forecast is not a realized return. The broad crypto market was recently classified as “Greed,” with a reading of 63 on the Fear & Greed Index, but that measure covers the overall market rather than SKY specifically.

Standard Chartered’s end-2028 target is a projection based on assumptions about stablecoin and ecosystem growth. The relationship between those assumptions and later results can be assessed by comparing subsequent protocol data and governance decisions with the figures used in the report. It should be considered informationally and does not replace independent research.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making decisions.