S&P Assigns First-Ever Credit Rating to a DeFi Protocol, Rates Sky at B-
The Ethereum-based protocol issues the USDS stablecoin, created when borrowers post approved collateral. With a $7.1 billion market cap, USDS trails only USDT and USDC in size. Sky also offers savings vaults, enabling holders to earn yield via savings USDS (sUSDS).
Jonathan Manley, S&P's global head of market outreach, called the rating a 'significant milestone' that will help bring greater transparency to DeFi.
The move comes as S&P expands its coverage into blockchain-based finance, recently rating tokenized treasury funds and blockchain mortgage securitizations. Sky is itself an investor in Janus Henderson's tokenized treasury products.
S&P's separate Stablecoin Stability Assessment rates USDS's peg-maintenance ability at 4 (constrained) on a five-point scale.
The rating underscores growing overlap between traditional credit analysis and the evolving DeFi market.
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