Clearstar vs Sky Money: Risk curation or self-custody? (2026)

Both projects sit in the risk-curation category, but they offer different ways to use DeFi. Clearstar is a research and advisory firm that assesses protocols and assets, monitors collateral, oracles and liquidity, and operates vault strategies. It lists activity across 11 chains and about $188 million in TVL. That breadth may suit allocators who want a curator involved in strategy design and ongoing oversight.

Sky Money is a gateway to Sky Protocol, formerly MakerDAO, and also curates Morpho lending vaults on Ethereum. It is described as non-custodial: users connect their own wallets rather than depositing with a custodian. Its listed TVL is about $98 million. Sky also combines savings, rewards, staking and borrowing in one interface, though specific rates and terms are not published. The central choice is therefore broad, curator-led strategy support versus wallet-connected access to one protocol ecosystem.

Neither project publishes a general fee schedule in the details here. Clearstar says advisory work appears to be bespoke, and vault depositors should check the fee shown on the lending or vault platform hosting the strategy. That means the cost can depend on the engagement or specific vault; do not assume a single fee applies across Clearstar's offerings.

Sky Money does not publish savings rates, borrowing costs or fee schedules. Users should expect Ethereum network gas fees when making transactions. Rates, stability fees or vault fees may be shown in the app or protocol documentation and can change over time. Before committing funds, check the terms for the exact product and transaction you plan to use. If you need a published, comparable fee schedule before choosing, neither option provides one here.

Clearstar's model adds curator risk to the risk of the underlying protocols. Its decisions can affect allocations and parameters, so poor judgment or mistakes may contribute to losses. Clearstar describes risk reports and continuous monitoring, but its public scoring methodology is not shown, and audits are not listed for the vaults it curates. Public incident history, regulatory status, insurance and custody details are also not published.

Sky Money is described as non-custodial, so users keep funds in their own wallets rather than handing deposits to a company. That does not remove risk: smart contracts, stablecoin mechanics and Morpho vault allocations still matter. No audits are listed for this entry, which does not establish that no audits exist. Check the audit history of Sky Protocol and Morpho, and confirm you are using the official Sky Money site because similarly named apps exist. Consider local rules for DeFi and stablecoins before using either project.

Clearstar has the clear advantage in network coverage: its listed chains include Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon and several other networks. It also offers more than vault access, with risk reports, integration work, strategy operations and distribution support. Those services are aimed at teams and allocators as well as users seeking curated strategies. Its ease-of-use rating is not published, and its approach requires trust in the curator's judgment.

Sky Money focuses on Ethereum. That concentration may feel simpler for users already active in the Sky ecosystem, but it means Ethereum network gas costs and no listed alternative chain. Its interface brings several functions together, and the project is described as non-custodial, but rates and exact borrowing terms are not stated publicly. Pick Clearstar for multi-chain reach and risk-operations support; pick Sky Money for wallet-connected access to Sky's Ethereum-based offerings.