Moody’s on the Blockchain: a credit rating pilot test on Solana
Often presented as a new generation alternative to Ethereum or Bitcoin, the Solana blockchain is now making the headlines for a very different reason: onchain credit ratings.
In June 2025, Moody’s joined a fintech startup called Alphalédger to manage a pilot program to explore how traditional credit dimensions could be integrated into blockchain systems. Here is what they did:
- They created a tokenized municipal link: Alphaledger simulated a standard municipal obligation (a type of debt issued by the government) and transformed it into a digital token that could live on the Solana blockchain. This means that the link has become a programmable digital asset which could be followed, transferred and managed entirely onchain.
- Moody’s gave this obligation a real credit rating: By using their usual financial analysis tools and methodology, Moody’s assessed the risk of the deposit, just as he would for any traditional debt instrument, and awarded him a note (for example, AAA, AA, etc.).
- The note was pushed on the blockchain: Instead of keeping this note locked in a PDF report or behind a subscription database, Moody’s used an API to send the rating data directly to the Solana blockchain. It has become a part of the metadata of the token bond – permanently integrated and publicly visible.
Consequently, anyone interacting with this token on Solana (including intelligent contracts) could automatically read the Moody’s note without having to check it via an external source.
Experience has shown how credit ratings could be part of the main blockchain infrastructure, carried out directly in smart contracts to help automate the way financial products are issued and evaluated.
This article explains why all this counts, even if you are new in crypto, traditional finance or concepts such as programmable solvency.
What is an onchain credit rating, and why is it important?
Basically, a credit rating is an assessment of the probability of a borrower to repay the debt.
Traditional credit rating agencies like Moody’s, S&P and Fitch attribute letter notes (for example, AAA, AA, BBB) to entities such as governments or companies according to financial health and risk factors. These notes are crucial for investors evaluating obligations, loans and structured products.
A higher note, such as AAA, reports high solvency and low risk of defect. Weaker notes, sometimes called “unwanted status”, suggest a higher risk. These ratings directly affect interest rates that borrowers (such as governments or companies issued bonds) must offer to attract investors (such as asset managers, pension funds or individual bonds). For example, a listed obligation will generally have a lower yield than that of speculative grade.
These scores guide thousands of dollars in world debt flows. From the emission of municipal bonds to companies ‘loans, credit ratings help determine borrowing costs and investors’ appetite. They are essentially a shortcut for risk, similar to the way your personal credit scoring affects the interest rate on a mortgage or credit card.
Moody’s x Solana: smart contracts and credit ratings
The Moody’s and Alphalédger pilot project offered an overview of the future of the native financial instruments of the blockchain.
Let us summarize how it worked:
- A simulated municipal obligation was issued in the form of a digital token on the Solana blockchain.
- Moody’s assessed and awarded the credit rating of the Hors Chain obligation.
Using an API, this credit rating was pushed to the chain.
Unlike a traditional note that appears in a PDF or owner database, this credit rating was readable by machine and continuously recorded as immutable data on the blockchain. In other words, intelligent contracts or decentralized applications on Solana could automatically question the note of an obligation in the context of their logic – without the need for human contribution.
This idea storms the world of cryptography. Daniel Cash, for example, stressed that Moody’s had achieved a primary feat of his genre: the one who will shape the future of credit assessment. Cash is a main (non -resident) scholarship holder at the United Nations University Center for Political Research.
Although no real money has changed hands in the simulation, the implications are important. This model could allow real -time credit assessments, automated compliance and entirely new forms of programmable financial infrastructure.
Did you know? US municipal debt is a massive market. In the first quarter of 2025, the US municipal obligations in circulation totaled around 4.2 billions of dollars, with more than $ 220 billion issued by May alone.
Blockchain’s native financial instruments: why put credit notations on a blockchain?
As real assets tokenized enter the blockchain ecosystems, have a name of confidence such as the attribution ratings of Moody’s directly to these assets could help establish legitimacy and transparency.
Suppose an institutional investor inspects a token municipal obligation issued on the Solana blockchain. Instead of checking a PDF or connecting to the Moody owner system, they instantly see the rating of the Moody’s Bond blockchain, drawn directly from the chain itself.
According to the CEO of Alphaledger, Manish Dutta, this model could “unlock liquidity to active active world by offering investors access to a brand of trust like Moody’s”.
With the credit rating integrated into the digital token, Solana becomes a trusted layer for the native financial instruments of the blockchain.
Programmable solvency: institutional adoption meets tokenization
The Moody’s pilot on Solana shows how onchain credit ratings can bring institutional confidence and transparency to the growing world of tokenized active assets.
There is a wider signal here. The Moody test test shows how traditional credit agencies adapt to the requirements of blockchain -based finance. Institutions cannot interact with cryptocurrency markets unless they trust data and risk signals. Put credit notes on blockchain bridges this gap.
The pilot also highlighted Solana’s ability to manage institutional quality financial data – a nod to the flow and reliability of the chain. These are two things that large institutions care when assessing financial infrastructure trends.
This experience fits perfectly into the greatest trend in tokenization. Like active active world (RWAS) as obligations, loans and funds are digitized, they need familiar measures to strengthen investor confidence.
Did you know? The BCG and the undulation provide up to $ 18.9 billions of token workers by 2033. For this market on a scale, the onchain tools like the credit scores will become essential.
How the onchain ratings could fuel more intelligent finance
Put a credit rating directly onchain opens possibilities that go far beyond visibility. It introduces the potential that intelligent contracts and credit ratings interact directly.
For example, a loan protocol could automatically adjust interest rates or warranty requirements if the credit rating of a borrower decreases. It is a key programmable solvency concept, where notes can be exploitable.
That said, the integration of immutable data also introduces challenges. If a notation changes, how is the recording of the blockchain updated? Who governs this process? What if a note is disputed? These are all questions that should be discussed as the blockchain regulation in 2025 is progressing.
