Blockchain startup Daylight, backed by a16z crypto and Framework Ventures, introduces DayFi, a new DeFi protocol on Ethereum. DayFi pursues a direct goal: convert real-world electricity into a yield-bearing crypto asset and open a capital market for distributed energy.
Founder Jason Badeaux connects the project to a clear macro trend. Data centers, robotics, electric vehicles and autonomous fleets push power demand to new levels, while conventional grid expansion moves slowly through permits, construction delays and legacy finance. In his words, “energy becomes a bottleneck for progress”, and distributed generation offers a faster and cheaper path to scale capacity on modern power grids.
DayFi positions itself as a bridge between onchain capital and physical solar assets. The protocol channels crypto liquidity into solar installations and routes tokenized returns back to holders. In practice, Daylight tries to turn kilowatt-hours into a financial stream that investors can price, trade and track on Ethereum.
Real-World Assets Onchain, With Energy as Collateral
DayFi fits into the broader rise of real-world assets (RWA) on public chains. Asset managers already tokenize U.S. Treasuries, funds and credit exposures. Daylight expands that field by linking DeFi vaults to revenue from solar power projects.
Badeaux points to a key friction in distributed energy. A large share of the cost of a residential solar installation does not come from panels or inverters. Sales teams, customer acquisition, paperwork and other “soft” items still consume around 60% of the total bill, according to internal estimates. Those frictions slow down adoption and reduce returns for both homeowners and financiers.
DayFi responds with crypto-native tools. The protocol uses token incentives and permissionless vaults to coordinate capital formation. Investors bring liquidity into onchain vaults. Project developers obtain financing for new solar arrays. Power markets gain a more standardized instrument for dealing with small, geographically dispersed assets.
Badeaux explains that Daylight combines incentives, funding and standardization on a single network. By doing so, the company wants to make distributed solar easier to adopt for users and easier to integrate for grid operators and power traders.
How DayFi Works: Dual-Token Structure With GRID and sGRID
At the core of DayFi sits a dual-token design built around GRID and sGRID.
GRID acts as the base stablecoin inside the protocol. Daylight issues GRID on top of the M0 tech stack and backs the token with a portfolio of U.S. Treasuries and cash. Parity with the U.S. dollar serves as reference. GRID itself does not pay yield and instead functions as stable collateral and settlement currency for DayFi vaults.
The second token, sGRID, carries the yield. DayFi structures sGRID as a derivative that blends two income streams:
- •Interest from the Treasuries that back GRID, and
- •Revenue from Daylight’s solar installations, paid out from energy sales.
Investors deposit capital into vaults that mint sGRID against tokenized rights to cash flows from solar assets. Deposits remain locked for two months, using infrastructure from Upshift and curation strategies from K3. During that period, capital flows toward projects, while onchain records track ownership over future energy-linked payments.
In simple terms, sGRID holders receive yield that reflects both conventional fixed income and operational income from solar power. Developers gain access to DeFi capital without relying only on local banks. Power traders and grid operators gain a cleaner view of distributed assets, since DayFi packages cash flows into standardized tokens on Ethereum.