Top Rating Agency Moody's Proposes Reserve Quality-Centric Stablecoin Rating Framework

BlockBeats News, December 13th, according to The Block, top credit rating agency Moody's is introducing a new framework for evaluating stablecoins that are increasingly integrated into the traditional financial system. The agency stated on Friday: "We will assess the credit risk of stablecoin's redemption obligation and assign a rating. We recommend starting by evaluating each eligible asset type in the stablecoin reserve pool and determining its credit quality through the rating of the assets and related counterparties."

This framework means that, in practice, two stablecoins claiming to be pegged 1:1 to the US dollar may receive different ratings due to differences in their underlying reserve assets.

Moody's further explained: "The second step in our analysis will consider market value factors, evaluating the market value risk of each type of eligible reserve asset based on asset type and maturity. The analysis will derive a haircut rate applicable to each asset value. We further recommend incorporating factors such as operational risk, liquidity risk, technical risk, etc., into stablecoin's risk assessment, ultimately reaching a rating conclusion."

Moody's is now inviting market participants to provide feedback on the proposal by January 26, 2026.