KeelFi, a new capital allocator on the Solana blockchain, has announced its ambitious goal of allocating up to $2.5 billion to both decentralized finance (DeFi) and tokenized asset markets.
The initiative mentioned today is focused on increasing the growth of Solana’s ecosystem by bridging the gap between DeFi protocols and real-world assets (RWA).
Keel comes under the Sky ecosystem (formerly MakerDAO) as one of Sky’s autonomous governance units, or “stars”, initiated as part of Sky’s wide-ranging Endgame update.
This format allows Keel to move aggressively toward innovation on Solana while contributing to Sky’s larger goal of building out decentralized stablecoins such as USDS (with a circulating supply of over $7 billion).
Integration with Solana’s DeFi Marketplaces
In the initial rollout of Keel, it will serve as an on-chain capital allocator, using reserves of USDS stablecoin to fund allocations.
Keel will be responsible for the efficient allocation of liquidity across multiple DeFi protocols on Solana, while allowing access to capital at scale at speed for lending and liquidity pools, as well as asset routing, on those platforms.
The first protocols partnering with Keel will be Kamino, Jupiter, and Raydium three well-known names and established protocols.
Going up stream into those protocols will enable Keel to provide on-chain liquidity and institutional-grade capital infrastructure to the ecosystem on Solana, improving stability and supporting further growth and innovation in the ecosystem.
Driving Liquidity and Tokenization Growth
Keel’s drive for liquidity was emphasized by Keel in order to present the next stage of DeFi development.
Cian Breathnach, CEO of Matariki Labs and a key driver of Keel, explained that new assets are not enough; liquidity needs to be mobilised at speed and scale to deliver sustainable growth.
Keel’s capability, combined with the position it occupies, will facilitate the pace of adoption of tokenized RWAs, such as commodities, bonds, and equities, by providing liquidity to make them viable within the Solana ecosystem.
Based on this strategy, Solana will be well placed on the path to becoming a leading infrastructure for blockchain-based financial markets, where institutional-grade liquidity is increasingly viewed as an essential condition for mass adoption.
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Strategic Endorsements from Industry Leaders
Keel has been positioned with high praise from both the Solana Foundation and Sky leadership.
“Keel is a key step in reorienting Solana to be a global marketplace for tokenized capital markets,” said Lily Liu, the president of Solana Foundation.
Rune Christensen, co-founder of Sky, stated, “Can’t wait to see the Keel Network become the largest allocatory of capital on Solana, likely with outsized influence on the next generation of DeFi and RWAs.”
Both endorsements demonstrate the scale of Keel’s ambitions and their importance to the future of Solana’s ecosystem.
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Wider Context of DeFi and RWA Developments
Keel’s debut occurs within a broader context of developments in DeFi and RWA. On August 6th, MetaMask and Stripe revealed a proposal for “MetaMask USD,” a stablecoin backed by Stripe’s payment infrastructure and integrated into the M^0 blockchain, UnoCrypto reported.
Given that MetaMask has 30 million users, this could provide a way to connect decentralized finance with wholly traditional financial systems at scale.
On August 26th, we reported that while the above discussions were underway, the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) called for regulators to respond to “tokenized equities” that replicate real shares but often do not provide shareholder rights or legal protections.
Both of these discussions relate to opportunities and regulatory issues surrounding the tokenization of assets.
Each underscores the importance of Keel as the company works to position Solana at the forefront of this emerging industry.
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