OpenZeppelin

OpenZeppelin is a software company and a widely used open-source framework for secure smart contract development on Ethereum and other EVM-compatible blockchains. The organization maintains a suite of audited, reusable components, most notably OpenZeppelin Contracts, a library of modular Solidity implementations that cover tokens (ERC20, ERC721, ERC1155), access control, upgradeability, governance, and common security patterns. The library is designed for safety, interoperability, and broad community review, and is released under an open-source license.

In addition to the contract library, OpenZeppelin provides developer tools and security services. OpenZeppelin Defender is a security platform for monitoring, automation, and incident response in blockchain environments. OpenZeppelin Upgrades offers tooling and patterns for building upgradeable contracts using proxy patterns. The company also offers educational resources, documentation, tutorials, and training through OpenZeppelin Academy to teach best practices in secure contract design and deployment.

OpenZeppelin began as an open-source project and later established a company that provides security audits, consulting, and professional services to protocol teams and enterprises. The project is widely adopted in the Ethereum ecosystem, with many DeFi, NFT, and gaming projects relying on its contracts as building blocks and security standards. The organization emphasizes governance, community involvement, and ongoing research into secure design patterns to improve the safety and reliability of blockchain software.