BlackRock stablecoin reserve fund receives highest rating from S & P

Standard & Poor's awarded BlackRock the highest rating to its new tokenized money market fund

Standard & Poor's Global Ratings awarded BlackRock's newly launched tokenized money market fund its highest level principal stability fund rating on August 3, recognizing its expected ability to maintain principal stability and limit losses caused by credit risk.

Summary

Standard & Poor's awarded BlackRock's BRSRV Fund its highest-rated AAAm principal stabilization fund rating after its official launch on Monday. As of Tuesday, the fund held $50 million in assets and maintained a net asset value of $1.00 per share, according to BlackRock data. The fund holds only cash, short-term U.S. Treasurys and overnight repo agreements backed by treasury instruments. In the stablecoin stability assessment framework separately released by S & P, the USDT remains rated at five levels (i.e.,"weak"). BRSRV's target customers are stablecoin issuers seeking qualified reserve assets under the GENIUS Act and future federal regulations.

BlackRock's Daily Reinvestment Stabilizer Reserve Facility (BRSRV) received an "AAAm" rating on the day it started operations. As of August 4, BlackRock's official fund page showed that its assets were US$50 million and its net asset value was US$1.00. S & P's rating is based on the credit quality, term structure of the fund's portfolio and counterparties, and BlackRock Advisors 'policy of maintaining stable net asset value. The agency said it "found no weaknesses" in its assessment of management, credit research, risk control and compliance.

BlackRock's AAAm rating covers principal stability

The AAAm Principal Stability Fund rating represents S & P's view that the fixed-income fund has strong capabilities to preserve principal and limit losses due to credit risk. Factors reviewed by S & P include liquidity, portfolio duration, degree of diversification and management controls. This rating does not guarantee that BRSRV will always maintain its $1 share price. BlackRock warned that investors could suffer losses and that the fund is neither a bank account nor protected by FDIC insurance or any other government guarantee. Standard & Poor's also believes that BRSRV's tokenization architecture is operationally resilient. The fund uses a licensing structure connected to a public blockchain, and transfers are limited to approved wallet addresses. These controls are designed to reduce risks to networks, smart contracts and blockchain networks.

BRSRV is designed to meet the GENIUS Act reserve requirements

BRSRV invests 100% of its assets in cash, U.S. Treasury bonds maturing within 93 days, and overnight repo agreements backed by treasury bonds instruments. Its investment portfolio must maintain a weighted average dollar term of no more than 60 days and a weighted average life cycle of no more than 120 days. These investments must also comply with U.S. government money market funds regulations. BlackRock intends to operate BRSRV so that its OnChain share can become a qualified reserve asset that is allowed to pay stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act and related regulations. However, final eligibility will depend on applicable federal regulations, not just BlackRock's own statements. Securitize serves as the fund's transfer agent and tokenization service provider. Investors must complete identification and anti-money laundering checks before the wallet is approved. The minimum initial investment is $3 million, which suggests that the product is aimed at institutional rather than retail users. BRSRV was launched simultaneously with the tokenized share of BlackRock's Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund. These two products extend BlackRock's cash management business into regulated blockchain infrastructure.

Low scores of USDT use different S & P evaluation frameworks

S & P's AAAm rating on BRSRV is separate from its "stablecoin stability assessment." The latter measures the ability of stablecoins to maintain their pegging to fiat currencies through primary redemptions and secondary market transactions. The stablecoin framework ranges from level one ("very strong") to level five ("weak"). It considers reserve asset quality, governance, liquidity, legal protection, technology dependence and the issuer's operating record. S & P stated that the assessment was not a credit rating. Tether's USDT is still rated at Level 5 (weak) after being downgraded from Level 4 by Standard & Poor's in November 2025. S & P attributed the downgrade to its increased exposure to riskier reserve assets. TrueUSD and Ethena's USDe are also at weak evaluation levels. In contrast, USDC, EURC, Global Dollar and Paxos USD have a Level 2 evaluation level (strong). These scores should not be directly compared to BRSRV's AAAm rating, as the former evaluates the pegging ability of stablecoins, while the latter measures the principal stability of regulated funds.

Institutional adoption is the next test

The rating provides an external measure of BRSRV's investment portfolio and management control, but does not establish the needs of stablecoin issuers. BlackRock has not disclosed how many issuers plan to use the fund or how fast its assets may grow. Future GENIUS Act regulations will also determine how tokenized money market funds are positioned in stablecoin reserve portfolios. BlackRock has asked the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to avoid setting a separate cap on tokenized reserve assets. BRSRV's asset growth, blockchain expansion and adoption by well-known stablecoin issuers will provide the clearest indication of whether the product can become a widely used reserve tool.