Deep Dive
1. Protocol Revenue Buybacks (Ongoing)
Overview: Skate DAO initiated weekly buybacks of SKATE tokens using protocol revenue generated from AMM fees and partnerships. Funds are converted to ezSKATE, a liquid restaking token, and distributed as yield to stakers (Skate DAO Proposal).
What this means: This is bullish for SKATE as buybacks reduce circulating supply while aligning staker incentives with protocol growth. Risks include reliance on sustained AMM revenue, which depends on cross-chain adoption.
2. Grants for Builders (Q1 2026)
Overview: A grants program targeting developers to build stateless apps, dashboards, and integrations. Funding is tied to milestone-based deliverables, not lump sums, to ensure accountability (Skate DAO).
What this means: Neutral-to-bullish. While this could expand Skate’s ecosystem, success hinges on attracting high-quality developers in a competitive market.
3. Cross-VM Liquidity Expansion (2026)
Overview: After launching on Solana, EVM, and Sui in 2025, Skate aims to unify liquidity pools across additional VMs (e.g., TON, Aptos) and introduce new trading pairs (Skate AMM Update).
What this means: Bullish if executed well, as shared liquidity reduces fragmentation and improves pricing. However, technical complexity and competition from native AMMs pose risks.
4. EigenCloud AVS Integration (Q2 2026)
Overview: Skate plans deeper integration with EigenLayer’s AVS to secure its cross-chain infrastructure, leveraging $5B+ in economic trust from restakers (Skate AVS).
What this means: Bullish for long-term security but dependent on EigenLayer’s adoption. Delays or vulnerabilities in EigenLayer could impact timelines.
Conclusion
Skate’s roadmap prioritizes tokenomics tightening (buybacks), ecosystem growth (grants), and technical scalability (cross-VM liquidity). The integration with EigenLayer adds a layer of trust but introduces external dependencies. Will Skate’s stateless model outpace chain-specific AMMs as multi-VM adoption grows?