S&P Global buys OpenZeppelin, backs Kaiko for 24/7 markets

S&P Global agreed to acquire smart-contract security firm OpenZeppelin and led a strategic investment in crypto-data provider Kaiko as part of an effort to expand services for markets that operate around the clock. The OpenZeppelin deal was announced on Sept. 17; the Kaiko investment was disclosed three days earlier.

OpenZeppelin will continue to operate under its own name as a separate business unit. Chief executive Demian Brener will remain in charge and report to Yann Le Pallec, president of S&P Global Ratings. Financial terms were not disclosed and the acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions.

OpenZeppelin maintains an open-source Contracts library and conducts security reviews of smart contracts and blockchain systems. The company says its libraries have supported more than $37 trillion in transferred value, it has completed over 900 security engagements, and it identified more than 10,000 vulnerabilities before production. S&P stated those libraries will remain free, open source and publicly maintained, and that OpenZeppelin’s audit, engineering and security teams will continue under current leadership.

S&P led a strategic funding round that extended Kaiko’s Series B to $110 million. Participants included DRW, Susquehanna, Royal Bank of Canada, Nasdaq and BNP Paribas. Kaiko provides market data and infrastructure to more than 250 financial firms and connects to more than 150 exchanges, supporting trading, valuation and risk management for markets that do not close at the end of the traditional business day.

S&P and Kaiko have worked together on bringing the iBoxx US Treasuries Index on-chain and have combined parts of their digital-asset benchmark businesses into the S&P Kaiko Digital Asset Indices, a suite designed for continuous markets.

S&P described the OpenZeppelin acquisition as adding capabilities in an “on-chain technology-risk layer,” enabling security assessments and benchmarks that cover smart-contract risk alongside issuer, collateral and liquidity risks.

Yann Le Pallec, S&P Global Ratings president, described the firm’s digital assets strategy as “centers on bringing trusted data, benchmarks and transparent risk assessment to markets as they move onchain.”

OpenZeppelin chief executive Demian Brener added the combination could help the company reach more financial institutions as banks, asset managers and issuers increase their use of blockchain infrastructure.

S&P has extended several of its products into digital markets, including stablecoin stability assessments, a credit rating for a decentralized finance protocol, licensing the S&P 500 for tokenized products and developing the S&P Digital Markets 50 Index. S&P noted the acquisition is not expected to materially affect its financial results and emphasized near-term expansion of capabilities.

According to S&P, combining Kaiko’s market data, S&P’s benchmarks and analysis, and OpenZeppelin’s smart-contract expertise will support institutions that need continuous pricing, collateral valuations and risk controls when markets operate around the clock.