Deep Dive
1. Migration Deadline Pressure (Bullish Impact)
Overview: Exchanges like Bitbank and zondacrypto completed MKR-to-SKY migrations by September 18, 2025, with penalties for delayed conversions reducing MKR’s value by 99.99% post-deadline. This forced remaining MKR holders to swap to SKY, increasing demand.
What this means: The migration funneled liquidity into SKY, reducing MKR’s circulating supply and reinforcing SKY’s role as the governance token. This structural shift likely stabilized SKY’s price despite broader market volatility.
What to look out for: Post-migration sell pressure if early upgraders cash out rewards.
2. Perpetual Futures Launch (Mixed Impact)
Overview: Helix listed SKY/USDT perpetual futures on September 18, offering 25x leverage and fee rebates. Trading volume surged 52.7% to $47.3M in 24h, reflecting heightened speculative interest.
What this means: Derivatives access improved SKY’s liquidity but introduced volatility risks. The mixed technical outlook (RSI at 37.63 signaling oversold conditions, MACD bearish) suggests traders are cautiously testing rebound opportunities.
Key level: A sustained break above the 7-day SMA ($0.0716) could signal short-term bullish momentum.
3. Buyback Program Support (Bullish Impact)
Overview: Sky Protocol has repurchased 1.11B SKY (~$80M) since July 2025, averaging $250K daily. These buybacks reduce sell pressure and anchor investor confidence.
What this means: The program’s deflationary mechanism offsets dilution from migration inflows, creating a supply-demand equilibrium. However, SKY’s 30-day price remains up 11.22%, suggesting buybacks alone haven’t reversed the broader downtrend.
Conclusion
SKY’s modest 24h gain reflects migration tailwinds and strategic buybacks countering technical weakness. While derivatives and exchange support provide liquidity, the token remains vulnerable to broader market sentiment.
Key watch: Can SKY hold the $0.069 support level if Bitcoin dominance rises amid the current "Fear" market sentiment (CMC Fear & Greed Index: 39)?