A DeFi protocol risk rating is a quantitative score (0-100) that estimates the safety of depositing funds into a DeFi protocol. DeFi Sentinel weights five dimensions to produce the final score: Smart Contract & Technical Risk (30%), Economic Design & Market Risk (25%), Governance & Centralization Risk (20%), Sustainability & Competitive Position (15%), and Reputation & Social Trust (10%). Scores map to letter grades from AAA (highest safety) to CCC (highest risk).

Each protocol is scored independently against documented criteria in every dimension: audit count and severity of findings, time-since-launch, TVL stability, oracle dependencies, admin key controls, governance decentralization, and operational track record. Scores are reviewed quarterly and after any material event such as an exploit, governance change, or major contract upgrade.

DeFi Sentinel covers 100+ protocols across major chains including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, BSC, Avalanche, and Solana. Categories include lending markets, decentralized exchanges, liquid staking, derivatives, yield aggregators, and stablecoins. The full list is filterable by category, chain, rating, and TVL on this page.

A high rating signals lower historical and structural risk, but no DeFi protocol is risk-free. Smart contract bugs, oracle failures, governance attacks, or extreme market conditions can still cause losses. Use ratings to compare protocols, then read the individual rating page and risk breakdown before depositing.

Ratings are recalculated on a rolling basis. TVL, audit status, and on-chain metrics refresh daily. The full five-dimension score is reviewed at least quarterly and immediately after any qualifying event (exploit, major upgrade, governance change, or audit publication). The 'Last updated' field on each protocol page shows the most recent recalculation date.

DeFi Sentinel uses a credit-style letter scale. AAA (90-100): highest safety, deep audit coverage, battle-tested. AA (80-89): very safe, minor open risks. A (70-79): generally safe with moderate caveats. BBB (60-69): acceptable for risk-tolerant users. BB (50-59): elevated risk, due diligence required. B (40-49): high risk, suitable only for small allocations. CCC (<40): speculative — material unresolved risks.