S&P Global Acquires OpenZeppelin, Expanding Into Stablecoin Code Auditing

S&P Global announced on Thursday that it will acquire OpenZeppelin, the firm whose open‑source smart‑contract libraries are used by most major stablecoins. The deal follows S&P’s participation in a $110 million Series B round for crypto data provider Kaiko earlier in the week.

OpenZeppelin’s Role in Stablecoins

Since 2015, OpenZeppelin has published free building blocks for smart contracts—programs that move tokenized money on blockchains without intermediaries. The company claims its code has facilitated the movement of more than $37 trillion in value, has completed over 900 security reviews, and identified more than 10 000 vulnerabilities.

S&P Global’s Crypto Strategy

For the past year, S&P Global has been rating crypto‑related products, including the first credit rating for a DeFi protocol and stability assessments for stablecoins. The acquisition gives S&P direct control over the underlying code that powers these assets, extending its analysis from data and ratings to the software layer itself.

Recent Crypto Investments

• Monday: S&P led a $110 million funding round for Kaiko, a Paris‑based provider of pricing data across more than 150 exchanges and protocols. Investors included BNP Paribas, Nasdaq Ventures and Royal Bank of Canada.
• Thursday: S&P agreed to buy OpenZeppelin. Neither party disclosed a purchase price.

Industry Context

Independent security reviews remain a key factor in protecting crypto protocols. A CoinGecko analysis of 245 incidents since January 2025 found that protocols with prior independent audits accounted for 88 % of total thefts, amounting to $3.63 billion through July 2026.

Market Reaction

S&P Global’s shares closed at $406.76 on September 16, near the lower end of a 52‑week range that peaked at $552.25.