Moody’s on the blockchain: A pilot check of credit score scores on Solana
Usually touted as a next-gen various to Ethereum or Bitcoin, the Solana blockchain is now making headlines for a really completely different purpose: onchain credit score scores.
In June 2025, Moody’s teamed up with a fintech startup known as Alphaledger to run a pilot program to discover how conventional credit score scores may very well be built-in into blockchain methods. Right here’s what they did:
- They created a tokenized municipal bond: Alphaledger simulated an ordinary municipal bond (a sort of government-issued debt) and turned it right into a digital token that would dwell on the Solana blockchain. This implies the bond grew to become a programmable digital asset that may very well be tracked, transferred and managed completely onchain.
- Moody’s gave that bond an actual credit standing: Utilizing their normal monetary evaluation instruments and methodology, Moody’s evaluated the danger of the bond, similar to it will for any conventional debt instrument, and assigned it a ranking (e.g., Aaa, Aa, and many others.).
- The ranking was pushed onto the blockchain: As an alternative of conserving that ranking locked away in a PDF report or behind a subscription database, Moody’s used an API to ship the ranking information on to the Solana blockchain. It grew to become a part of the bond token’s metadata — completely embedded and publicly viewable.
In consequence, anybody interacting with that token on Solana (together with sensible contracts) might robotically learn the Moody’s ranking while not having to confirm it via an exterior supply.
The experiment confirmed how credit score scores might turn into a part of blockchain’s core infrastructure, baked immediately into sensible contracts to assist automate how monetary merchandise are issued and assessed.
This text explains why all of it issues, even for those who’re new to crypto, conventional finance or ideas like programmable creditworthiness.
What’s an onchain credit standing, and why does it matter?
At its core, a credit standing is an evaluation of how seemingly a borrower is to repay debt.
Conventional credit-rating companies like Moody’s, S&P and Fitch assign letter grades (e.g., AAA, AA, BBB) to entities like governments or companies primarily based on monetary well being and danger components. These grades are essential for traders evaluating bonds, loans and structured merchandise.
A better ranking, reminiscent of Aaa, alerts sturdy creditworthiness and low default danger. Decrease scores, generally known as “junk standing,” counsel greater danger. These scores immediately have an effect on the rates of interest debtors (like governments or corporations issuing bonds) should provide to draw traders (like asset managers, pension funds, or particular person bondholders). For instance, an A-rated bond will sometimes pay a decrease yield than a speculative-grade one.
These scores information trillions of {dollars} in international debt flows. From municipal bond issuance to company loans, credit score scores assist decide borrowing prices and investor urge for food. They’re basically a shorthand for danger, just like how your private credit score rating impacts the rate of interest on a mortgage or bank card.
Moody’s x Solana: Sensible contracts and credit score scores
The pilot undertaking by Moody’s and Alphaledger provided a glimpse into the way forward for blockchain-native monetary devices.
Let’s recap the way it labored:
- A simulated municipal bond was issued as a digital token on the Solana blockchain.
- Moody’s evaluated and assigned the bond’s credit standing offchain.
Utilizing an API, that credit standing was pushed on-chain.
Not like a standard ranking that seems in a PDF or proprietary database, this credit standing was machine-readable and completely recorded as immutable information on the blockchain. In different phrases, sensible contracts or decentralized functions on Solana might robotically question a bond’s ranking as a part of their logic — while not having human enter.
This concept is taking the crypto world by storm. Daniel Money, as an illustration, highlighted that Moody’s had achieved a first-of-its-kind feat: one that can form the way forward for credit score evaluation. Money is a senior fellow (non-resident) on the United Nations College Centre for Coverage Analysis.
Though no actual cash modified palms within the simulation, the implications are large. This mannequin might allow real-time credit score assessments, automated compliance and completely new types of programmable monetary infrastructure.
Do you know? US municipal debt is a large market. By the primary quarter of 2025, excellent US municipal bonds totaled roughly $4.2 trillion, with over $220 billion issued by Might alone.
Blockchain-native monetary devices: Why put credit score scores on a blockchain?
As extra tokenized real-world property enter blockchain ecosystems, having a trusted identify like Moody’s assign scores on to these property might assist set up legitimacy and transparency.
Let’s suppose that an institutional investor inspects a tokenized municipal bond issued on the Solana blockchain. As an alternative of checking a PDF or logging in to Moody’s proprietary system, they immediately see the bond’s Moody’s blockchain ranking, pulled immediately from the chain itself.
In keeping with Alphaledger CEO Manish Dutta, this mannequin might “unlock liquidity to real-world property by offering traders entry to a trusted model like Moody’s.”
With the credit standing embedded into the digital token, Solana turns into a belief layer for blockchain-native monetary devices.
Programmable creditworthiness: Institutional adoption meets tokenization
Moody’s pilot on Solana exhibits how onchain credit score scores can convey institutional belief and transparency to the rising world of tokenized real-world property.
There’s a broader sign right here. Moody’s check run exhibits how conventional credit score companies are adapting to the calls for of blockchain-based finance. Establishments can’t work together with crypto-native markets except they belief the information and danger alerts. Placing credit score scores on blockchain bridges that hole.
The pilot additionally highlighted Solana’s capability to deal with institutional-grade monetary information — a nod to the chain’s throughput and reliability. These are two issues giant establishments care about when assessing monetary infrastructure developments.
This experiment suits neatly into the bigger tokenization pattern. As real-world property (RWAs) like bonds, loans and funds are digitized, they want acquainted metrics to construct investor confidence.
Do you know? BCG and Ripple forecast as much as $18.9 trillion in tokenized property by 2033. For this market to scale, onchain variations of instruments like credit score scores will turn into important.
How onchain scores might energy smarter finance
Placing a credit standing immediately onchain opens up prospects that go far past visibility. It introduces the potential for sensible contracts and credit score scores to work together immediately.
For instance, a lending protocol might robotically regulate rates of interest or collateral necessities if a borrower’s credit standing drops. This can be a key idea of programmable creditworthiness, the place scores are actionable.
That mentioned, embedding immutable information additionally introduces challenges. If a ranking modifications, how is the blockchain file up to date? Who governs that course of? What if a ranking is disputed? These are all questions that can should be addressed as blockchain regulation in 2025 progresses.
