S&P Global Ratings has launched a Vault Risk Assessment (VRA) for digital asset lending vaults.
The tool gives an independent, forward-looking view of the relative risk that an investor’s stake in a vault loses value.
Lending vaults are investment products that run on a blockchain. Much like managed bond funds, they pool money from investors and invest it under set strategies.
S&P said deposits in these vaults grew from US$1.5 billion in September 2024 to US$10 billion in September 2026. Yet vaults have typically shared little about their strategies and risks.
The VRA weighs six areas of risk. It checks the quality of a vault’s assets and whether it can meet withdrawals.
Other factors are its curator, the blockchain, the lending protocol, and its security and governance. Curators are the people or firms that decide where the money goes.
A VRA is not a credit rating, and it does not comment on yields. Vaults get a letter grade, and the first results will come later.
“As digital assets continue to institutionalise, the demand for independent risk assessments that bridge traditional finance and decentralised innovation is paramount,”
said Yann Le Pallec, President of S&P Global Ratings.
“The inherent complexities and varying disclosure standards in this nascent market create a clear need for a standardised, independent risk perspective,”
said James Wiemken, Executive Managing Director and Head of Global Ratings Services.
The launch adds to S&P Global’s work in digital assets. This includes stablecoin assessments and a credit rating of Sky Protocol.
In September 2026, it agreed to buy security firm OpenZeppelin and led a strategic investment in Kaiko, a data firm.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by topntp26 via Magnific.
