Which agency rated USDT weak?

TLDR

S&P Global Ratings is the agency that rated Tether (USDT) weak on its stablecoin stability scale Financial Times.

1. USDT was downgraded to 5 (weak) from 4 (constrained) on 26 Nov Yahoo Finance.
2. S&P cited higher exposure to risky reserve assets and disclosure gaps Financial Times.
3. Tethers CEO publicly disagreed and defended the firms reserves Decrypt.

Deep Dive

1. The Rating

S&P Globals stablecoin stability assessment moved USDT to 5 (weak), the lowest score on its 15 scale. The downgrade was published on 26 Nov Yahoo Finance.

S&P created the scale to gauge a stablecoins ability to maintain its peg under stress and within a defined disclosure and governance framework Financial Times.

2. Why S&P Cut USDT

S&P highlighted a rising share of higher?risk assets in USDTs reserves (Bitcoin, gold, secured loans, corporate bonds) and persistent gaps in reserve disclosures.

1. Exposure to risky assets increased year over year, raising undercollateralization risk if prices fall Financial Times.
2. The report points to limited transparency on custodians, counterparties, and reserve management Yahoo Finance.

3. Tethers Response

Tether contends the assessment uses a legacy model that misses USDTs resilience and global utility, and it asserts reserves are robust with large Treasury holdings Decrypt.

Tethers CEO criticized traditional rating methodologies and emphasized the firm has honored redemptions during stress events Decrypt.

Conclusion

S&P Global Ratings issued the weak rating for USDT, citing higher?risk reserve assets and disclosure gaps. For users, the takeaway is to treat ratings as one lens among many, and to weigh issuer transparency and reserve quality alongside day?to?day peg performance when choosing stablecoin exposure.