Moody's Releases New Framework for Stablecoin Credit Ratings; Same 1:1 Peg to the US Dollar but May Receive Different Ratings

[Block Rhythm] Moody’s, one of the world’s top credit rating agencies, has recently made a major move—designing a tailored rating framework specifically for stablecoins. This scheme directly addresses a real issue: seemingly identical stablecoins may have vastly different rating results due to differences in their reserve assets.

Their approach is quite clear. The first step is to decompose each stablecoin’s reserve asset pool, evaluate what assets are inside one by one, and then assess the quality based on the credit ratings of these assets themselves. In other words, even if you claim to be 1:1 pegged to the US dollar, if your reserves are mixed with a bunch of junk bonds or high-risk assets, your rating will naturally decline.

The second step is even more interesting—they will also monitor market value changes. For the same type of asset, risk varies depending on the type and duration, so Moody’s will assign a haircut rate to each asset class. The purpose of this is to prevent situations where the paper figures look good but the actual risks are hidden.

Additionally, Moody’s plans to incorporate operational risk, liquidity risk, and technological risk into the assessment, resulting in an overall final rating. This means that even if your reserves look sufficient, if there are operational management flaws or hidden technical vulnerabilities, your rating will also be downgraded.

Currently, Moody’s is soliciting market comments, with a deadline of January 26, 2026. Once this framework is officially implemented, it will bring more transparent risk assessment standards to the stablecoin market and set higher requirements for project teams.