Stablecoin Risk Assessment Template for Treasuries
Quick answer. Score each stablecoin out of 100 across seven weighted categories: reserves, redemption, contract controls, chain and bridge exposure, issuer regulation, liquidity and depeg history. Back scores with dated evidence, cap exposure by band and rescore on triggers.
Video transcript
Holding a stablecoin means trusting an issuer, a contract and every chain it runs on. A weighted score tells you how much exposure each coin deserves.
Score each category zero to four. Multiply by its weight, divide by four, and add the results for a total out of one hundred. Then apply knockouts.
Reserves and contract controls weigh most, at twenty points each. Redemption and issuer regulation take fifteen. The rest take ten. Adjust the weights to how you use the coin.
Every score needs dated evidence, such as a document, a link or a block number. No evidence scores zero.
In the suggested bands, eighty five and up is held within limits. Seventy to eighty four gets a lower cap. Fifty five to sixty nine is converted same day. Below that, do not hold.
Some failures override any total: a single key that can mint without limit or upgrade, no reserve report in two months, no redemption path, or trading over two percent below peg.
S and P's Stablecoin Stability Assessment rates a coin's ability to hold value. This template scores it for your use and chains, tied to limits.
Disclosure: since January 2025, Guardian has run more than fifty engagements on USDT zero, Tether's omnichain USDT, reviewing roles, bridges and upgrade paths.
Read the full template, or talk to Guardian about the contract behind your stablecoin.
A treasury that holds or accepts a stablecoin takes on an issuer, a contract and every chain the coin runs on.
A checklist and a scoring template do different jobs:
- Our due diligence checklist: what to check, and where to find the evidence.
- This template: how much each answer counts, and what exposure each score allows.
The weights, bands and knockouts below are a suggested starting point, not a standard. Copy them into a spreadsheet and adjust them to how you use the coin.
How the Template Works
- Score each category from 0 to 4 against its rubric.
- Multiply by the category weight, then divide by 4.
- Add the seven results for a score out of 100.
- Apply the knockouts, then read off the band.
For example, a 3 on reserves earns 15 of its 20 points.
Score each deployment you use separately. A bridged version can have different owners from the native coin.
Every score needs dated evidence: a document, a link or a block number. No evidence scores 0.
Categories and Weights
Suggested weights. A payments team might move points toward redemption and liquidity.
| Category | Weight | Core question |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves and attestations | 20 | Is every coin backed, and who checks? |
| Redemption | 15 | Can you get dollars back, and how fast? |
| Contract controls | 20 | Who can mint, freeze or upgrade it? |
| Chain and bridge exposure | 10 | What trust does each chain add? |
| Issuer regulation | 15 | Who licenses and supervises the issuer? |
| Liquidity | 10 | Can you exit your size at par? |
| Depeg history | 10 | How has it held the peg under stress? |
| Total | 100 |
A 4 means strong, dated evidence. A 2 means partial evidence or a known weakness. A 0 means none, or a red flag. Use 1 and 3 for cases in between.
Reserves and attestations (20)
- 4: monthly composition, examined by a registered public accounting firm; cash and short-dated Treasuries.
- 0: no recent attestation, or assets you cannot identify.
- Evidence: the latest report, its firm, date and any qualification.
The 4 mirrors the GENIUS Act: once in effect, it requires a monthly reserve report from permitted US issuers, certified by the CEO and CFO.
Score concentration too. Reserves held mostly at one bank or custodian should score 2 at best.
Redemption (15)
- 4: you can redeem directly, within a day, at published fees.
- 0: no redemption path you can use.
- Evidence: your account status and a completed test redemption.
Score the access you have, not the issuer’s best case. If you can only redeem through an exchange, its limits set the score.
Contract controls (20)
- 4: no single key can mint, freeze or upgrade; mints are capped; upgrades are delayed.
- 0: one key can mint without limit or replace the code.
- Evidence: role holders, thresholds and timelocks, read onchain at a block.
If deployments differ, score the weakest one you use.
Chain and bridge exposure (10)
- 4: native issuance on every chain you use.
- 0: a bridged version behind a single verifier or key.
- Evidence: each deployment’s issuer, bridge route and verifier set.
Treat each bridge route as its own deployment, with its own owners and verifiers.
Issuer regulation (15)
- 4: licensed and supervised in each market where you use the coin.
- 0: no license in any market you serve.
- Evidence: the register entry and the regulator’s name.
The GENIUS Act takes effect no later than January 18, 2027. Until then, score the licenses the issuer holds today.
Liquidity (10)
- 4: you can sell your largest position near par on several venues.
- 0: one venue or pool holds most of the depth.
- Evidence: order book or pool depth for your size, dated.
Depeg history (10)
- 4: no material depeg, or a short one with a clear cause and fix.
- 0: a deep or unexplained depeg, or one still unresolved.
- Evidence: the lowest price in each stress event, with dates.
Suggested Bands and Limits
A suggested mapping from score to exposure. Your risk committee sets the actual caps.
| Band | Score | Treasury use | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 85 to 100 | Hold and settle within limits | Quarterly |
| B | 70 to 84 | Hold with a lower cap | Monthly |
| C | 55 to 69 | Accept, convert same day | Monthly |
| D | Below 55 | Do not hold or accept | On request |
Some failures outweigh any total. In this template, any one of these drops a coin to band D:
- A single key can mint without limit or upgrade the contract.
- No reserve report in the last two months.
- No redemption path for you, direct or through a venue you use.
- It trades more than 2% below peg as you score it.
How S&P’s Method Compares
S&P Global Ratings launched its Stablecoin Stability Assessment on December 12, 2023. It scores a coin’s ability to hold its value against a fiat currency, from 1 (very strong) to 5 (weak).
S&P starts with asset quality: credit, market value and custody risks. It calls asset quality “a critical driver of the final assessment.”
It then looks at governance, legal and regulatory framework, redeemability and liquidity, technology and third-party dependencies, and track record.
This template likewise weights reserves heaviest, tied with contract controls. The difference is purpose: it scores a coin for your use, on your chains, and ties the score to holding limits.
Where an S&P assessment exists, use it as an input, and check its date.
Keeping Scores Current
Rescore on schedule by band, and at once on any trigger:
- An upgrade, role change or new minter.
- A new chain or bridge route.
- A late or qualified reserve report.
- A change in license, or an enforcement action.
- A depeg or an incident at the issuer.
Before you hold a coin on a new chain, see our multichain deployment verification guide.
How Guardian Helps
Disclosure: since January 2025, Guardian has run more than fifty engagements on USDT0, the omnichain deployment of Tether’s USDT.
Its work maps to the contract controls and chain rows. Guardian reviews the deployments, roles, bridges and upgrade paths behind a coin before you depend on it.
Risk Monitoring then surfaces new implementations, proxy changes and parameter updates as they land, so a trigger reaches you before the next review.
For the issuer’s side of the design, see stablecoin security for issuers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should a company assess the risk of holding a stablecoin?
Score it across reserves, redemption, contract controls, chain and bridge exposure, issuer regulation, liquidity and depeg history. Weight the categories, attach dated evidence to each score, apply knockouts such as single-key minting, and set holding limits by score band.
What is the safest stablecoin?
There is no single answer. Safety depends on the chain, the amount, your redemption access and the jurisdictions you operate in. Score each coin on the deployments you use; the highest scorer for your use is the safest for you.
How is this different from S&P’s Stablecoin Stability Assessment?
S&P scores a coin’s ability to hold its value, from 1 (very strong) to 5 (weak), led by asset quality. This template scores a coin for one treasury’s use, on its chains, and ties the score to holding limits.
How often should a treasury rescore a stablecoin?
Quarterly for band A and monthly for bands B and C. Rescore at once on a trigger: an upgrade, a role change, a new chain, a late or qualified reserve report, a license change or a depeg.
Sources
Check the contract behind your stablecoin
Guardian reads the roles, bridges and upgrade paths that decide your contract controls score, and watches them after you sign off.