S&P Global Ratings launches Vault Risk Assessment to address DeFi risks

S&P Global Ratings has introduced a new framework for grading the risks inside crypto lending vaults. It is called the Vault Risk Assessment, or VRA, and it was unveiled in Singapore on October 4, 2026. The motivation is fairly direct. Andrew O’Neill, S&P Global’s analytical lead for digital assets, says recent DeFi exploits showed that risk parameters across the sector were loose. What S&P is actually grading Start with what a vault is. Picture a managed fixed-income fund, except the manager deploys pooled deposits into lending strategies that run on a blockchain. S&P itself draws that fund comparison. Depositors hand over assets. A curator decides where those assets go. Smart contracts handle the plumbing. The VRA splits the risk in that arrangement into six separate factors: Portfolio credit quality: how sound the underlying loans and assets are Liquidity mismatch: whether depositors could withdraw faster than the vault can unwind its positions Curator risk: the competence and conduct of whoever manages the strategy Blockchain risk: exposure to the network the vault runs on Protocol risk: exposure to the lending protocols the vault taps into Vault security and go...