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S&P Global is acquiring OpenZeppelin to enhance its push into digital assets and onchain markets.

The security firm says its team and tools will continue, while S&P adds data, research and institutional reach after closing. The post Wall Street gains direct oversight of Web3 security as S&P Global buys OpenZeppelin appeared first on CryptoSlate.

S&P Global agreed to acquire smart contract security firm OpenZeppelin, expanding its digital asset business into the technology underpinning tokenized finance. On Sept. 17, the financial data and ratings company said that OpenZeppelin will continue operating under its own name as a separate business unit. Chief Executive Demian Brener will remain in charge and report […] The post From Kaiko to OpenZeppelin, S&P Global is quietly preparing for markets that never close appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Building on its recent market-data investment in Kaiko, S&P Global’s latest purchase targets the technological risks facing banks and asset managers onchain.

S&P Global agreed to buy OpenZeppelin, which says its smart contracts have facilitated more than $37 trillion in value transfers. S&P Global is set to acquire the blockchain security company OpenZeppelin, expanding the financial data, ratings and benchmark provider’s digital asset capabilities. The deal announced on Thursday is aimed at complementing S&P Global’s risk assessment and ecosystem development capabilities in the digital asset market, it said. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the transaction remains subject to closing conditions. “Our digital assets strategy centers on bringing trusted data, benchmarks and transparent risk assessment to markets as they move onchain,” S&P Global ratings president Yann Le Pallec said. He added that OpenZeppelin would expand his company’s smart contract and onchain technology risk assessment capabilities. Read more

The investment brings together major financial institutions as Kaiko expands its data infrastructure for tokenized securities and onchain financial markets. S&P Global has led a strategic investment in Kaiko, extending the Paris-based crypto market data provider’s Series B funding to $110 million as it expands its data infrastructure for tokenized financial markets. The round also included BNP Paribas, Bpifrance, Broadridge, Canton Foundation, Coinbase Ventures, DRW Venture Capital, Nasdaq Ventures, Royal Bank of Canada, Stellar and Susquehanna Private Equity Investments. Kaiko said the funding will support its core digital asset market data business and its push into onchain financial infrastructure, including data services for tokenized Treasury bills, money market funds, equities and bonds. Read more

Financial rating giant S&P Global joined top traditional banks and exchange operators to fund Kaiko's expansion into continuous market data services

Reed Smith’s Aquarius platform automates regulatory filings and legal workflows as demand for MiCA compliance tools grows across Europe. Reed Smith, a global law firm with over 30 offices across North America, Europe and Asia, has launched an automated compliance platform designed to help crypto companies navigate the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation as the bloc enters a new phase of crypto oversight. The platform, called Aquarius, automates key compliance tasks including crypto-asset classification, regulatory white paper generation, due diligence and environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures. Reed Smith said it plans to expand the platform to support crypto compliance regimes in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Singapore. According to the firm, Aquarius is intended to simplify MiCA compliance for companies entering the European market or expanding their crypto offerings in the region by combining automated workflows with legal expertise. Rea...

The $2.75 billion acquisition points to token settlement moving inside regulated payment networks before it replaces them. The post Global $2.75B payments deal shows stablecoins moving into the rails they were meant to bypass appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Sovereign curves are back near old stress zones while Hormuz inflation risk keeps central banks boxed in. The post Global financial crisis fears grow as bond yields hit 1998 levels and Bitcoin drops below $80,000 appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Retail crypto activity fell 11% in Q1 as macro pressures weighed on markets, though Turkey and emerging economies showed resilience, TRM Labs data shows. Global crypto adoption declined in the first quarter as retail activity weakened under mounting macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures, underscoring the sector’s continued sensitivity to broader market conditions. TRM Labs’ Q1 Global Crypto Adoption Index showed an 11% year-over-year drop in retail crypto volumes, to $979 billion. The decline marked a second consecutive quarterly contraction and the sharpest pullback since the 2022 bear market. The downturn was largely driven by a stronger US dollar, higher interest rates and a broader risk-off environment, all of which weighed on retail participation, TRM said. The softer demand coincided with a 22% drop in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) during the quarter. Read more

Global X Launches Ethereum Covered Call ETF for Weekly Income The post Global X Launches Ethereum Covered Call ETF Targeting Weekly Income appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitchat saw a spike in downloads during protests in Madagascar, Nepal, Indonesia and Iran over the last year, and global unrest could see more cases like it. Decentralized, blockchain-based messaging and social media apps saw a surge of interest over the last year amid civil unrest and communication blackouts in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.  Search interest in decentralized social media has grown 145% over the last five years, according to Exploding Topics, while decentralized peer-to-peer messaging service Bitchat saw a spike in downloads during protests in Madagascar, Uganda, Nepal, Indonesia and Iran in recent months. “I think people are starting to trust open protocols more than they trust closed companies,” Shane Mac, the CEO of XMTP Labs, told Cointelegraph in a recent interview.   Read more

Markets dumped into the US open, Bitcoin fell through $85k, gold slipped too At 09:30 EST the tape changed in a way traders can feel in their stomach, the kind of flip where you stop looking for clever explanations and start checking how much margin you actually have. Bitcoin rolled over, then it dropped, then […] The post Global markets crash as everything including Bitcoin sells off at once erasing trillions appeared first on CryptoSlate.

All eyes in global finance are glued to liquidity. As the global broad money supply reaches a record $142 trillion, this monetary firehose has macro investors sitting up in their seats. Surging 6.7% year-on-year as of September, China, the EU, and the U.S. are driving this unprecedented expansion, and Bitcoin and the broader crypto market […] The post Global money supply ‘through the roof’, hitting $142 trillion in September appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin is decoupling from surging global liquidity and falling below key support levels, sparking concerns of a broader market correction. Analysts point to weakening fundamentals, stalled inflows, miner restructuring, and a rising share of BTC held at a loss as signs of deepening stress. The post [LIVE] Bitcoin Price Tracker: BTC Crashes Below Key Supports as Global M2 Hits Record Highs — What Happens Next? appeared first on Cryptonews.

A joint crackdown has traced Bitcoin proceeds from pig-butchering fraud to Prince Holding Group networks, seeking 127,000 BTC, while OFAC has sanctioned 146 parties and FinCEN has described billions laundered through shell companies and exchanges across regions. The post U.S. Moves to Seize Record $12B in Bitcoin from Global ‘Pig Butchering’ Scam After Joint Crackdown appeared first on Cryptonews.

S&P Global Ratings and Chainlink have partnered to provide onchain stablecoin risk profiles for TradFi players looking to enter or expand into the $300 billion market. S&P Global Ratings has partnered with blockchain oracle provider Chainlink to give financial institutions onchain access to its new stablecoin stability assessments, which rate each stablecoin by how well it maintains its peg. The Stablecoin Stability Assessments (SSAs) launched on the Ethereum layer-2 network Base on Tuesday, with potential to expand to other blockchains, subject to market demand and client feedback, S&P Global and Chainlink said in a statement seen by Cointelegraph.  “As institutional adoption of digital assets accelerates, the ability to access real-time risk assessments directly within blockchain infrastructure has become crucial for market participants.” Read more

Traditional finance and blockchain continue to converge and OpenEden’s latest milestone shows just how far the two worlds have come together. S&P Global Ratings has awarded OpenEden’s BNY-managed TBILL Fund an “AA+f” fund credit quality rating (FCQR) and an “S1+” fund volatility rating (FVR), both representing S&P’s highest ratings for credit quality and stability. The […] The post S&P Global’s ‘AA+’ Rating Cements OpenEden’s TBILL Fund as the Gold Standard for Tokenized Treasuries appeared first on CryptoSlate.

S&P Global announced plans to launch the S&P Digital Markets 50 Index, a benchmark that combines 15 cryptocurrencies with 35 publicly traded crypto-linked equities, offering a single gauge of the broader digital-asset economy. According to the Oct. 7 announcement, S&P Dow Jones Indices developed the index in collaboration with Dinari, which will issue a token […] The post S&P Global unveils comprehensive benchmark merging crypto and equities appeared first on CryptoSlate.