Moody’s Ratings and Chainlink have completed a pilot that sent credit ratings to several blockchains at the same time.
The companies announced the test on Tuesday, 10 November. It used Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), which moves data and assets between blockchains, together with Moody’s own system for publishing ratings onchain, called the Token Integration Engine (TIE).
The pilot covered both permissioned networks, where access is restricted, and open public blockchains. Moody’s said its usual processes for publishing and overseeing ratings were kept in place throughout.
A test, not a launch
The pilot ran on test networks using sample data, and no live ratings were published onchain. The companies described it as a proof of concept, and said the model can handle future rating changes under the right oversight.
Why it matters
The aim is for credit information to travel with tokenised assets, such as bonds and funds, on whichever blockchain they are issued.
“As more financial assets move onchain, credit intelligence has to move with them, across chains and through every rating change,” said Johann Eid, chief business officer at Chainlink Labs.
Fabian Astic, Moody’s global head of digital economy, said “the future of tokenized finance is unlikely to reside on a single blockchain, platform, or market infrastructure.”
Moody’s onchain push
Moody’s has rated or assessed more than 70 digital issuances, including digital bonds and tokenised funds, since January 2017. Earlier this year it launched TIE on the Canton Network, before extending it to Solana.
Chainlink recently released an upgraded version of CCIP.
What happens next
The next step would be publishing live ratings onchain. The companies had not given a timeline for that at the time of writing.
