S&P Global Ratings has partnered with blockchain oracle provider Chainlink to give financial institutions onchain access to its new stablecoin stability assessments, which rate each stablecoin by how well it maintains its peg.
The Stablecoin Stability Assessments (SSAs) launched on the Ethereum layer-2 network Base on Tuesday, with potential to expand to other blockchains, subject to market demand and client feedback, S&P Global and Chainlink said in a statement.
“As institutional adoption of digital assets accelerates, the ability to access real-time risk assessments directly within blockchain infrastructure has become crucial for market participants.”
The SSAs will be powered by DataLink — an institutional-grade data publishing service offered by Chainlink — enabling S&P Global Ratings to provide risk assessments for stablecoins, rated on a scale from 1 (very strong) to 5 (weak) based on each stablecoin’s ability to maintain a stable value relative to fiat currencies.
It is the first time the S&P Global Ratings — which evaluates the creditworthiness of S&P 500 companies and many others — is being made directly accessible onchain for use in DeFi protocols, Chainlink CEO Sergey Nazarov said.
“S&P Global Ratings is one of the world’s most trusted providers of credit ratings, relied upon by the largest banks, asset managers, and governments,” Nazarov added. “This unlocks a critical framework for institutions adopting stablecoins at scale, enabling a more secure and compliant foundation for digital markets.”
The stablecoin market recently surpassed $300 billion and is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2028, according to the US Treasury Department’s estimate in April.
With the GENIUS Act establishing a stablecoin regulatory framework, there could be a rise in demand for real-time risk profiles, enabling institutions to make more informed data decisions with their stablecoin investments.
For example, USDC (USDC) is a fiat-backed stablecoin fully collateralized by US dollars and Treasurys, while Ethena USDe (USDe) is an algorithmic stablecoin that maintains its peg through crypto-based collateral and onchain mechanisms rather than cash reserves.
Many stablecoins rely on blockchain oracles, such as Chainlink, to provide accurate, tamper-resistant price data and other external inputs that help maintain their peg and support smart contract functionality.
Last Friday’s market crash highlighted just how important oracles are, as the USDe briefly fell to $0.65 on Binance, due to its reliance on a thinly liquid order book instead of an external oracle price feed.
Chainlink’s Partner List Growing by the Month
The S&P Global Ratings collaboration adds another TradFi partnership to Chainlink’s books, having already worked with Swift, Euroclear, JPMorgan, Fidelity, UBS, and Mastercard.
Even the US government tapped Chainlink to publish economic data onchain in late August as part of an effort to boost transparency for government spending.
Chainlink also continues to dominate the onchain oracle market, having enabled over $25 trillion worth of transaction value while actively securing nearly $100 billion in DeFi total value locked, according to Chainlink.