S&P Global Ratings brings its stablecoin stability ratings directly to blockchains through a partnership with decentralized oracle network Chainlink.
The integration will enable decentralized financial protocols, smart contracts and financial platforms to access S&P’s risk assessments of stablecoins in real-time, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk.
The ratings give stablecoins a score from 1 to 5 based on their ability to maintain a stable value against fiat currencies.
They take into account asset quality, liquidity, repayment mechanisms, legal status and governance. S&P is currently evaluating 10 stablecoins, including Sky Protocol’s USDT, USDC and USDS/DAI.
Unlike credit ratings, the assessments are intended to measure operational and structural stability. By putting them onchain, DeFi platforms can automatically reference S&P’s risk assessments, without offchain data feeds or manual updates.
The service uses Chainlink’s DataLink infrastructure, which allows traditional data providers to publish on blockchains without building new systems. The data will initially launch on Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network, with further expansions based on demand.
The move comes as the stablecoin market reached a capitalization of $305 billion, up from $130 billion a year earlier, according to data from DeFiLlama.
S&P Global has increased its activities in the crypto space since 2021, launching crypto indices and issuing risk assessments for tokenized funds and DeFi protocols. The first-ever credit rating for a DeFi protocol was awarded in August.
