S&P launches risk framework for blockchain lending vaults

S&P Global Ratings launched a framework on October 4 to assess the relative risk that investors in blockchain-based lending vaults could suffer impairment, introducing a standardized risk tool as deposits in the sector reached roughly $10 billion. The company said the assessment is not a conventional credit rating, does not evaluate a vault’s yield and does not guarantee against losses. No individual vault received an assessment at launch. S&P reported that deposits in lending vaults rose from $1.5 billion in September 2024 to about $10 billion in September 2026. The figures indicate substantial growth in funds held in these structures, which pool deposits and deploy them in blockchain-based lending markets. The Vault Risk Assessment examines six areas: portfolio credit quality, liquidity mismatch, curator risk, blockchain risk, protocol risk, and vault security and governance. Curators are the people or entities responsible for deciding how deposited assets are allocated. The framework considers the risks associated with the assets a vault can use, its ability to meet withdrawals, the systems supporting its operation and how it is managed.