S&P Global acquires OpenZeppelin to bridge credit ratings with onchain code security

S&P Global (SPGI) said Thursday it has agreed to buy OpenZeppelin, a smart-contract security firm whose open-source code library is used across much of the stablecoin and tokenized-fund market. S&P said contracts built with the library have moved more than $37 trillion over time. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal gives S&P Global access to a part of onchain finance that conventional ratings do not cover: the code that issues, moves and manages stablecoins, tokenized funds and DeFi products. A project can have sound reserves or a strong credit profile but still fail because of a flaw in its smart contracts. S&P is betting banks and asset managers will need common ways to assess that technology risk before they use onchain products at scale.

The $37 trillion figure is a measure of value transferred through contracts using OpenZeppelin’s library over time, not assets the company manages or holds.

“The transaction complements S&P Global’s risk assessment and ecosystem development capabilities in digital asset markets, enhancing its ability to create the next generation of onchain security assessments, benchmarks, and deliver essential intelligence as capital markets transition onchain,” the firm said.