S&P Global Ratings has partnered with decentralized oracle network Chainlink to bring its stablecoin stability assessments directly to blockchains.
This integration enables decentralized finance protocols, smart contracts, and financial platforms to access S&P’s real-time risk evaluations of stablecoins, as per a press release shared with CoinDesk.
These assessments assign scores from 1 to 5 based on the stablecoins’ ability to maintain a stable value relative to fiat currencies. Factors considered include asset quality, liquidity, redemption mechanisms, regulatory status, and governance. Currently, S&P evaluates 10 stablecoins, including USDT, USDC, and Sky Protocol’s USDS/DAI.
Unlike traditional credit ratings, these assessments focus on operational and structural stability. By integrating them onchain, decentralized finance platforms can automatically reference S&P’s risk assessments without relying on offchain data feeds or manual updates.
The partnership leverages Chainlink’s DataLink infrastructure, allowing traditional data providers to publish data to blockchains seamlessly. Initially, the data will be available on Base, an Ethereum layer 2 network, with potential expansions based on demand.
This development comes amid the stablecoin market’s significant growth, reaching $305 billion in capitalization from $130 billion a year earlier, per DeFiLlama data.
Since 2021, S&P Global has been actively involved in the crypto space, launching crypto indices and issuing risk assessments for tokenized funds and DeFi protocols. In August, the company assigned its first credit rating to a DeFi protocol.
