Liquity's stablecoin outranks USDC and DAI with perfect scores in decentralization, management, and governance.

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BOLD has received an A- rating from Bluechip, an independent stablecoin rating agency, with perfect 1.0 scores in Management, Decentralization, and Governance.

This places BOLD in the top tier of evaluated stablecoins, outranking widely-used options like USDC (B+) and DAI (B+). 

What makes this significant? While PYUSD shares the A- rating, it relies on bank deposits and US Treasuries. BOLD achieves the same rating with 100% crypto-native collateral - no banks, no custodians, no centralized control.

Why This Rating Matters

Most stablecoins share similar risk profiles, with limited transparency about their backing or governance. BOLD's A- rating, higher than USDC (B+) and DAI (B+), signals a different approach:

• Zero counterparty risk: No centralized issuer who can freeze funds or change rules
• Transparent backing: Highly overcollateralized with ETH/LSTs, verifiable onchain in real-time
• Always redeemable: Any holder can redeem BOLD for $1 of underlying collateral instantly
• Immutable design: The protocol cannot be altered by governance or operators
• Real yield without rehypothecation: Earn from borrower interest without lending out your collateral

“The A- rating for BOLD shows that DeFi stablecoins can be a serious alternative to the established centralized stablecoins.” 

• Michael Svoboda (CEO, Liquity)

This combination makes BOLD what many call "the Ethereum Dollar" - a neutral stablecoin of last resort for users who value sovereignty and transparency.

Independent Validation: What Bluechip Evaluates

Bluechip is an independent rating agency focused exclusively on stablecoins. Its framework evaluates how a stablecoin works across multiple dimensions, including collateral quality, peg mechanisms, governance design, decentralization, and market behavior.

For users looking for a clear stablecoin explained analysis, Bluechip functions similarly to how Moody’s or S&P evaluate bonds. Rather than predicting price appreciation, Bluechip assesses whether a stablecoin can reliably maintain its peg and how it behaves during stress events such as volatility or a potential stablecoin depeg.

As stablecoin adoption grows across DeFi, onchain savings, and payments—alongside both decentralized systems and centralized stablecoins like USDC and USDT—these evaluations help users better understand the tradeoffs between convenience, censorship resistance, and regulatory protections.

Breaking Down the A- Rating

BOLD received an A- overall rating, placing it in Bluechip’s top tier of stablecoins. The rating reflects strong performance across all evaluated factors, with exceptional results in structural design.

The Scores

Management (1.0): BOLD operates as immutable smart contracts with no admin keys or upgrade paths. By comparison, centralized stablecoins like USDC and USDT have operators who retain full control over issuance, freezing, and redemptions.

Decentralization (1.0): Collateral is held entirely onchain, with no custodians, banks, or offchain dependencies. This design supports censorship resistance and permissionless access, in contrast to centralized stablecoins that rely on regulated financial intermediaries.

Governance (1.0): There is no governance over BOLD’s core monetary or liquidation rules. Governance authority is intentionally constrained, eliminating governance capture or rule-change risk.

Stability Score (0.88): BOLD’s stability score reflects its overcollateralized design, permissionless minting and redemption, and layered liquidation system. Bluechip highlights direct redemptions as a key mechanism: any holder can redeem BOLD for underlying ETH collateral at $1, creating a built-in arbitrage loop that helps anchor the stablecoin price.

During the evaluation period, BOLD traded within a narrow band around $1, demonstrating resilience even during broader market volatility—an important indicator for users concerned about downside risk and historical stablecoin depeg events.

What Makes BOLD Different

Understanding how does a stablecoin work in practice requires looking at collateral, control, and incentives. BOLD differs from many stablecoin issuers in several key ways.

Ethereum-Native Collateral

BOLD is backed 100% by ETH and liquid staked ETH (wstETH and rETH). The protocol cannot add new collateral assets, removing future asset-mix risk and offchain exposure common among centralized stablecoins.

Deep Overcollateralization

At the time of evaluation, BOLD maintained a combined collateral ratio of roughly 291%, meaning every $1 of BOLD was backed by nearly $3 of ETH-based collateral. This buffer reduces the likelihood of a stablecoin depeg during market downturns.

No Freezing or Blacklisting

BOLD contracts do not include blacklist or freeze functions. No issuer can restrict access, block addresses, or prevent redemptions—unlike USDC or USDT, where issuers retain the ability to freeze funds when required.

Instant Redeemability

Any BOLD holder can redeem at $1 for underlying collateral. This mechanism supports peg stability without relying on centralized market makers or issuer discretion.

Predictable Yield

Stablecoin yield in the BOLD ecosystem comes from borrower interest and liquidation incentives - not token emissions - making returns more transparent and sustainable.

While centralized stablecoins are widely used for stablecoin payments, they often rely on banks, custodians, and regulatory permissions that introduce different risk profiles.

The A- Advantage

BOLD's A- rating, the same tier as PYUSD but higher than USDC (B+) and DAI (B+) reflects these design choices. Where PYUSD achieves A- through bank backing and regulatory compliance, BOLD reaches the same tier through immutable code and economic design.

Built by a Proven Team

BOLD is built by the team behind LUSD (Liquity V1), one of Ethereum’s longest-running and most reliable decentralized stablecoins.

LUSD reached over $5 billion in peak TVL, has operated for more than four years, and has experienced zero exploits and no significant depeg events. This track record provides context for BOLD as a second-generation system that builds on proven design principles while expanding functionality.

This proven track record matters: the team has already operated a top-tier decentralized stablecoin at scale without incident. BOLD builds on those lessons while expanding capabilities

Putting BOLD to Work

For users exploring stablecoin use cases or wondering how to invest in stablecoin systems, BOLD supports multiple options:

• Stability Pool (SP): Deposit BOLD to earn yield from borrower interest and liquidation proceeds. Note: During liquidations, your BOLD may convert to ETH (at a 5% discount). Best for: ETH bulls who see liquidations as buying opportunities.
• sBOLD (K3 Capital) and yBOLD (Yearn): Auto-compounding yield strategies that keep you in dollars. Best for: Passive earners who want yield without ETH exposure risk.

• Providing Liquidity : Provide liquidity in BOLD/USDC pools on DEXs. Best for: Active LPs comfortable with impermanent loss.
• Lending Markets: Supply BOLD to lending protocols. Best for: Users seeking predictable, lower-risk returns.
• Yield tokenization: Take advantage of fixed yield and more on platforms like Pendle and Spectra Best for: Advanced users seeking yield optimization strategies.

All yield venues can be found on: liquity.org/earn

These options illustrate how stablecoin investment can range from passive holding to active yield strategies, depending on user goals and risk tolerance.

In conclusion, Bluechip's A- rating for BOLD, higher than USDC and DAI, provides independent validation that BOLD is engineered for resilience and decentralization. With perfect scores in Management, Decentralization, and Governance, and 100% crypto-native backing, BOLD offers a credible alternative to bank-backed stablecoins.

Whether you're diversifying your stablecoin holdings, seeking sovereignty from centralized control, or looking for sustainable yield -BOLD provides a new option grounded in immutable code and transparent economics.

Get Started with BOLD:

• Explore BOLD
• Learn more about Bluechip‍
• Join the community: Discord | X @LiquityProtocol

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