International rating agency Moody's Investors Service has assigned Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin a long-term credit rating of A2 and a short-term rating of P-1. This is the first case in the history of the digital asset market in which a native payment token has received a classic investment-grade assessment from a "Big Three" agency.
The P-1 rating is the highest short-term liquidity score in Moody's methodology. In effect, the agency has equated the operational reliability of RLUSD redemption with the short-term obligations of stable commercial banks, setting a new benchmark for the entire digital fiat money industry.
Money is safe, but there is a catch
Moody's assigned high ratings based on an analysis of the strict collateral structure and operational standards that Ripple has deployed within the U.S. jurisdiction:
- Safety margin: The volume of reserve assets is targeted at constant overcollateralization of 103%.
- Collateral quality: The portfolio contains exclusively fiat dollars and short-term U.S. Treasury bonds.
- Storage in a tier-one bank: Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) has been approved as the main independent custodian of the reserves.
- Cash limits: Placement of cash in third-party commercial banks is strictly capped at $50 million and hedged with government bonds in a segregated account at BNY.
- Liquidity guarantee: Ripple's subsidiary (Standard Custody & Trust Company) is legally obligated to convert tokens into fiat at par for verified institutional clients within two business days.
The current expansion is systemic in nature. Just two days ago, on October 26, Ripple received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to launch Ripple National Trust Bank. It is this entity that will close the security loop, taking over the functions of trustee for the stablecoin's reserves.
However, Moody's analysts remain pragmatic: the long-term reliability rating is fixed at A2 (the upper segment of the upper-medium grade), but it has clear limitations.
The main vulnerability lies in the legal sphere. The token issuer is not legally isolated from the bankruptcy risks of the parent Ripple group (not bankruptcy-remote). End holders of RLUSD have no direct claim on the assets held at BNY Mellon. If the issuer faces a court freeze of operations, the redemption mechanism will be automatically suspended. Eliminating this legal vulnerability is the key trigger for a possible rating upgrade.
