Introducing the First 25 Independent DeFi Yield Ratings
TL;DR;
- Staking Rewards publishes its first 25 independent risk ratings for onchain yield protocols — the first rating system built specifically for DeFi yield.
- Every rating is based solely on publicly available information. Protocols can challenge and improve their rating by submitting relevant data.
- Ratings span 12 risk dimensions across lending, liquid staking, vaults, and more — from Aave (A) to HyperLend (CCC).
Today we're publishing the first 25 Staking Rewards Digital Asset Yield Ratings — an independent, structured assessment of risk across onchain yield protocols.
SR Ratings are a framework for understanding risk-adjusted yield — the kind of analysis that's been standard in traditional credit markets for decades but has been entirely missing in DeFi.
Why Ratings, Why Now
Institutional capital is entering DeFi. But without standardized risk assessment, allocators are flying blind. APY means nothing without understanding the risk behind it. A 5% vault yield and a 5% lending yield can carry fundamentally different risk profiles — smart contract risk, governance risk, liquidity risk, counterparty exposure.
The SR Digital Asset Yield Ratings are designed to make that risk legible.
How the Ratings Work
Each protocol is assessed across 12 risk dimensions: Smart Contract Security, Key Management & Permissions, Market, Liquidity, Collateral, Protocol Mechanics, Infrastructure Counterparty Exposure, Protocol Counterparty Exposure, Governance, Financial Resilience, Team & Legal Compliance, and Documentation & Transparency.
Ratings follow a familiar credit-rating scale — from AAA (highest quality) down to D (default). The first 25 rated protocols range from A (Aave v3 WETH) at the top to CCC (HyperLend, Coinbase wstETH) at the bottom, spanning lending, liquid staking, vaults, and onchain credit.
The full methodology is open source and available on GitHub and our Documentation.
Built on Public Information — Improvable by Protocols
Every rating is based solely on publicly available information. We don't require privileged access, NDAs, or partnerships to rate a protocol.
But we recognize that public information has limits. That's why every rating has two scores: a current rating and a potential rating.
The current rating reflects what we can assess today. The potential rating reflects the ceiling a protocol could reach if all identified improvement areas are addressed — better documentation, additional audits, improved governance transparency, or other enhancements.
For example, Lido stETH currently holds a BBB+ rating with a potential of AA. Aave v3 WETH sits at A with a potential of AA+. The gap between the two is the roadmap.
Protocols can challenge their rating and close that gap by submitting relevant information through our open challenge process. We actively encourage it — better data means better ratings for everyone.
The First 25
The initial batch covers the most significant onchain yield opportunities by AUM, spanning four categories: lending (Aave, Spark, HyperLend), liquid staking (Lido, Ether.fi, Rocket Pool, Coinbase, Puffer), vaults (Morpho Gauntlet, Morpho Steakhouse, Morpho Smokehouse, Morpho Vault Bridge, Ether.fi Liquid, Sky Savings, Kamino Steakhouse, Kamino Sentora, BlackRock BUIDL), and onchain credit (Spark spUSDC, Maple syrupUSDC, Ethena Staked USDe).
Explore the full leaderboard and individual protocol ratings at stakingrewards.com/defi.
Available via API
All ratings data is also available programmatically through the Staking Rewards Data & Ratings API — enabling institutions, asset managers, and platforms to integrate risk-adjusted yield data directly into their workflows.
What Comes Next
This is the first batch. We'll be expanding coverage across more protocols, more chains, and more yield verticals — and deepening the analysis as protocols engage with the rating process. Please get in touch to request ratings.
DeFi yield deserves the same rigor as traditional fixed income. This is the starting point.
About Staking Rewards
Staking Rewards is the independent rating and data platform for digital asset yield. Trusted by institutions including Fidelity and Coinbase, we rate and track 90+ verified yield providers across 120+ digital assets. Through our ratings, research, data API, and the Digital Asset Yield Summit (DAYS), we help allocators navigate onchain yield with clarity and confidence. Learn more at stakingrewards.com.
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