The LINK price continues to drop despite a new initiative from the S&P Global to tap Chainlink for a stablecoin project.

With the stablecoin market surpassing $300 billion and new regulations gaining ground, institutional investors have clearer frameworks to use blockchain technology with enhanced transparency and safeguards.

Chainlink Price Slips Despite S&P Global Turning to It for On-Chain Stablecoin Ratings

LINK was trading for $18.41 as of this writing, down by over 5% in the last 24 hours. The drop comes despite S&P Global Ratings, a leader in credit analytics, now publishing its Stablecoin Stability Assessments on public blockchains through Chainlink’s DataLink.

Chainlink (LINK) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

Based on an official press release, the S&P Global Ratings’ Stablecoin Stability Assessments (SSAs) can now be accessed directly on-chain through Chainlink.

The move marks a significant advance for DeFi transparency and risk automation. For the first time, investors and smart contracts can use real-time stablecoin risk data openly on blockchain networks.

These assessments provide independent risk ratings for stablecoins, such as USDT and USDC, evaluating how reliably each can hold its value to the US dollar.

According to the announcement, each stablecoin gets a score from 1 (very strong) to 5 (weak) based on reserve quality, transparency, regulatory status, and market performance.

This integration gives DeFi platforms, lending protocols, and institutional investors live risk data within their ecosystems. Ratings feed directly into smart contracts, enabling automated decisions and risk controls from a trusted S&P source.

“We’re excited to announce that @SPGlobalRatings—the leading credit rating agency relied on by 95% of the top 20 global institutional investors—is collaborating with Chainlink to publish its Stablecoin Stability Assessments (SSAs) onchain for the first time via DataLink,” Chainlink said in a post.

The SSA framework starts with 10 major stablecoins, including USDT and USDC. These scores reflect asset quality, governance, regulatory compliance, liquidity, and real-time market resilience. Notably, these are crucial factors for protocols integrating stablecoins at scale.

Regulatory Tailwinds and Growing Institutional Trust

This development follows the passage of the GENIUS Act, which established the first federal stablecoin regulatory framework in the US. The stablecoin market is up to $305 billion, up from $173 billion a year before.

Stablecoin Market Cap. Source: DefiLlama

Chainlink supports more than $25 trillion in DeFi transactions and secures nearly $100 billion in value, proving its reliability for decentralized data. The SSAs debut on Base chain, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2, with potential for broader expansion.

For investors, increased regulatory clarity and on-chain ratings resolve concerns around collateral risk and transparency.

S&P Global Ratings’ official page states that DeFi protocols, asset managers, and risk officers can use the SSA tool to benchmark stablecoin risk, optimize capital allocation, and meet regulatory requirements.

“The launch of SSAs on-chain through Chainlink highlights our commitment to meeting our clients where they are…we’re enabling market participants to access our assessments seamlessly using their existing DeFi infrastructure, enhancing transparency and informed decision-making across the DeFi,” read an excerpt in the announcement, citing Chuck Mounts, S&P Globla chief DeFi officer.

In a public review, S&P rated Tether (USDT) 4 (“constrained”) and noted possible peg instability during market stress.

Since SSA scores update periodically, protocols and funds can adapt to market and regulatory shifts quickly.

This partnership between ratings agencies and blockchain infrastructure signals a mature industry, where transparency and automation drive mainstream adoption.