S&P Global Ratings has issued a B- (Stable Outlook) issuer credit rating to Sky Protocol, formerly known as Maker Protocol, marking the first time a decentralised finance (DeFi) protocol has received a formal credit rating from a major agency.
Sky Protocol is a decentralised lending platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. It enables users to mint USDS—a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar—by posting accepted collateral. Depositors can earn yield by placing USDS into savings vaults, receiving savings tokens (sUSDS) in return. With a market capitalisation of $7.7bn, USDS is now the third-largest stablecoin globally.
Jonathan Manley, global head of market outreach at S&P Global Ratings, said the rating “represents a significant milestone in the evolution of decentralised finance” and reflects the agency’s commitment to improving transparency in the sector.
The rating underscores growing institutional engagement with blockchain-based financial infrastructure, as traditional frameworks begin to intersect with decentralised systems. The move also follows S&P’s recent ratings of tokenised funds, including Janus Henderson’s Anemoy Treasury Fund, in which Sky was a lead investor.
The Sky protocol operates on a non-custodial basis, meaning users retain control of their assets, and governance decisions are made via on-chain voting using SKY tokens. However, S&P cited high depositor concentration, centralised governance, and weak risk-adjusted capitalisation as key constraints.
Sky founder Rune Christensen holds 9% of governance tokens, and low voter turnout has led to outsized influence over protocol decisions, according to S&P’s rating. Liquidity risks and cyber vulnerabilities were also flagged, though the agency acknowledged Sky’s track record of minimal credit losses and robust smart contract audits.
Separately, S&P’s Stablecoin Stability Assessment rated USDS at 4 (constrained), citing challenges in maintaining its peg.
