Sky Protocol Launches Grove, a $1B-Backed DeFi Credit Infrastructure for Institutional Onchain Access
Sky Protocol has launched Grove, a new decentralized finance (DeFi) credit platform backed by a $1 billion investment in tokenized credit, marking a major milestone in bridging traditional finance (TradFi) with blockchain technology.
Unveiled on June 25, Grove is an institutional-grade credit infrastructure developed within the Sky ecosystem. At launch, Sky committed $1 billion to invest through the Janus Henderson Anemoy AAA CLO Strategy—a fully tokenized collateralized loan obligation (CLO) fund built in partnership with Centrifuge.
This fund, operated by the same team behind Janus Henderson’s $21 billion AAA CLO ETF, is the first CLO investment strategy to be deployed entirely onchain. CLOs are known for providing stable yields and preserving capital, offering DeFi access to a previously off-chain asset class.
Grove functions as a capital routing layer, connecting decentralized protocols with traditional asset managers. It allows crypto-native projects to deploy idle treasury funds into regulated, diversified financial products—without leaving the blockchain. The system is non-custodial and enables dynamic, flexible capital allocation.
The protocol was incubated by Grove Labs, a division of Steakhouse Financial, with contributions from a founding group of finance and crypto veterans from firms including Citigroup, Deloitte, BlockTower Capital, and Hildene Capital.
Grove is part of Sky’s broader Endgame strategy, which aims to reorganize its protocol into modular, independent entities called “Stars.” Following Spark, Grove becomes the latest Star focused on integrating tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) into DeFi at scale.
“Demand for high-quality, yield-generating assets onchain is growing rapidly,” said Sam Paderewski, co-founder of Grove Labs. “With Sky’s $1 billion allocation, Grove enables protocols to access liquid, institutional-grade credit without sacrificing decentralization.”
The launch also reflects the accelerating trend of tokenizing fixed-income products within DeFi. Since 2023, the tokenized U.S. Treasury market has surged from $500 million to over $7.3 billion. The launch of the JAAA fund adds to this momentum by offering a diversified, actively managed investment product directly onchain.
Janus Henderson, which previously partnered with Centrifuge on the tokenized JTRSY Treasury fund, cited that project’s success as a catalyst for its new onchain CLO strategy. “Grove’s infrastructure expands global access to structured credit,” said Nick Cherney, head of innovation at Janus Henderson. “Tokenizing this strategy is a big step toward integrating traditional finance into DeFi.”
Sky co-founder Rune Christensen emphasized that Grove aligns with the protocol’s long-term mission to build an open, decentralized capital network. By diversifying its real-world asset portfolio, Grove strengthens Sky’s position in the evolving DeFi landscape.
Looking ahead, Grove will continue to act as a liquidity engine for DeFi by facilitating seamless capital allocations between asset managers and crypto-native platforms—bringing institutional credit further into the blockchain age.
