S&P Global has agreed to acquire blockchain security company OpenZeppelin. The deal marks a move by a traditional credit ratings business to expand into the on-chain finance market.

On Sept. 17, local time, blockchain media outlet Cryptopolitan reported that OpenZeppelin develops blockchain-based financial software and provides security audits. The company's open-source Contracts library is used as a smart contract code base for developing DeFi protocols and tokenised assets.

S&P Global said the library has supported the transfer of value of more than $37 trillion. OpenZeppelin said it has carried out more than 900 security engagements for protocols and institutions in the digital asset market and identified more than 10,000 vulnerabilities before deployment.

S&P Global will expand its existing business into the on-chain market through the acquisition. Yann Le Pallec (얀 르 팔렉), president of S&P Global Ratings, said the company's digital asset strategy is focused on providing reliable data and benchmarks and transparent risk assessments as markets move on-chain. He said OpenZeppelin's capabilities will complement the company's existing business in smart contract and technology risk assessments.

OpenZeppelin's operating structure will not change significantly after the deal. S&P Global said OpenZeppelin will continue to operate as a separate business unit under its current name. Co-founder Demian Brener (데미안 브레너) will remain chief executive officer and report to Le Pallec.

Key assets aimed at the developer ecosystem will also remain in place. OpenZeppelin stressed that its Contracts library will continue to be maintained on GitHub as open-source, free and publicly available. Existing security audits, engineering work and ecosystem programmes will continue to be handled by the current team.

Brener said OpenZeppelin started 10 years ago with a vision to build a secure global financial system powered by blockchain-based smart contracts. He said joining S&P Global could help standards created by the company's team and community become a foundation for the next generation of global finance.

Market reaction was limited. S&P Global did not disclose the purchase price or the total deal value and expects the transaction will not have a material impact on its results. Closing requires the satisfaction of customary conditions. In premarket trading on the New York Stock Exchange, S&P Global shares rose 1.04 percent to $411.

The acquisition also aligns with S&P Global's recent string of external expansion moves. S&P Global is also pursuing the acquisition of a majority stake in data centre research firm DatacenterHawk and in Nigeria's Augusto & Company. Attention is expected to focus on whether the deal can secure the necessary approvals and how S&P Global will link OpenZeppelin's security capabilities to new risk products for the on-chain market.