Asset Correlation Risk
Asset correlation risk is the danger that assets within a portfolio or a protocol's collateral pool move in the same direction, reducing the effectiveness of diversification. During market crashes, correlations between most digital assets tend to spike toward one, meaning they all fall simultaneously.
If a protocol assumes these assets are uncorrelated, it may underestimate the total risk to its margin engine. Proper modeling requires understanding how assets behave under stress, not just during normal times.
If the collateral pool is highly correlated, the protocol is significantly more vulnerable to systemic shocks. Managing this risk involves setting concentration limits and ensuring the collateral pool contains diverse, uncorrelated assets.