diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index afc7c1e..1330a40 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -293,6 +293,31 @@ if (WIN32)
 endif()
 
 # OpenSSL for TLS (libevent bufferevent_openssl, libmysqlclient).
+#
+# Linked statically on purpose: the released shared library must not carry a runtime
+# dependency on a particular OpenSSL installation. With the shared libs, the macOS
+# dylib gets an absolute path baked in (/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@N/lib/libssl.N.dylib)
+# and fails to load on any machine that does not have that exact Homebrew prefix; the
+# Windows DLL likewise dragged in libssl-3-x64.dll / libcrypto-3-x64.dll.
+option(FAKELUA_PREFER_STATIC_DEPS "Prefer static third-party libraries where possible" ON)
+if (FAKELUA_PREFER_STATIC_DEPS AND NOT MINGW)
+    set(OPENSSL_USE_STATIC_LIBS TRUE)
+    if (WIN32)
+        # Match the static CRT choice when consuming MSVC-built OpenSSL.
+        set(OPENSSL_MSVC_STATIC_RT ON)
+    endif ()
+endif ()
+# MinGW keeps the *shared* OpenSSL on purpose (libcrypto-3-x64.dll / libssl-3-x64.dll).
+#
+# RC4 / Blowfish / DES live in OpenSSL 3's "legacy" provider, which is a loadable module
+# (ossl-modules/legacy.dll), not part of libcrypto itself. A static libcrypto can only find
+# that module through the MODULESDIR compiled into it, and MSYS2 builds OpenSSL with a MSYS
+# path there ("/mingw64/lib/ossl-modules") that Win32 LoadLibrary cannot resolve. Statically
+# linking OpenSSL on MinGW therefore makes OSSL_PROVIDER_load("legacy") fail silently and
+# breaks crypto.rc4 / blowfish / des (verified: BuildWithWindows, 8 test_crypto failures).
+# The shared libcrypto derives its module directory from the DLL location at runtime, so it
+# finds legacy.dll. Ship those two DLLs next to libfakelua.dll in the release archive.
+
 if (WIN32 AND NOT OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR)
     get_filename_component(_fakelua_mingw_bin "${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}" DIRECTORY)
     get_filename_component(_fakelua_mingw_root "${_fakelua_mingw_bin}" DIRECTORY)
@@ -305,6 +330,24 @@ endif()
 find_package(OpenSSL REQUIRED)
 find_package(Threads REQUIRED)
 
+if (OPENSSL_USE_STATIC_LIBS)
+    # Guard against silently resolving to the shared libs (e.g. a Homebrew keg installed
+    # without the .a files), which would reintroduce the hardcoded runtime path.
+    # ".dll.a" covers the MinGW/MSVC import libraries of the OpenSSL DLLs.
+    set(_fl_openssl_shared "")
+    foreach (_fl_ssl_lib OpenSSL::SSL OpenSSL::Crypto)
+        get_target_property(_fl_lib_loc ${_fl_ssl_lib} IMPORTED_LOCATION)
+        if (_fl_lib_loc MATCHES "\\.(so|dylib|dll\\.a)(\\..*)?$")
+            list(APPEND _fl_openssl_shared "${_fl_ssl_lib}=${_fl_lib_loc}")
+        endif ()
+    endforeach ()
+    if (_fl_openssl_shared)
+        message(WARNING
+                "FAKELUA_PREFER_STATIC_DEPS is ON but OpenSSL resolved to non-static libs: "
+                "${_fl_openssl_shared}. The shipped library will depend on OpenSSL at runtime.")
+    endif ()
+endif ()
+
 # libevent: per-State event_base, driven by runtime.tick() via EVLOOP_NONBLOCK.
 CPMAddPackage(
     NAME libevent
@@ -499,6 +542,20 @@ endif()
 
 target_link_libraries(fakelua PRIVATE ${TARGET_LIB})
 
+# MinGW runtime: drop libgcc_s_seh-1.dll and libwinpthread-1.dll from the shipped DLL.
+#
+# libstdc++ is deliberately NOT statically linked. include/fakelua.h exposes STL types
+# across the ABI boundary (std::string returned by value, std::vector<std::pair<...>>),
+# and ViToString() is implemented inline in that header — so host and library must share
+# one copy of libstdc++. Statically linking it would give each side its own copy and
+# corrupt the heap whenever a std::string crosses the boundary.
+# libgcc / winpthread are pure C-level runtimes with no such ABI surface, so they are safe.
+if (FAKELUA_PREFER_STATIC_DEPS AND MINGW)
+    target_link_options(fakelua PRIVATE
+            -static-libgcc
+            -Wl,-Bstatic -lwinpthread -Wl,-Bdynamic)
+endif ()
+
 target_include_directories(fakelua PUBLIC
     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../include>
     $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_INSTALL_INCLUDEDIR}>
diff --git a/src/native/crypto/native_crypto.cpp b/src/native/crypto/native_crypto.cpp
index 277baa6..9794f1b 100644
--- a/src/native/crypto/native_crypto.cpp
+++ b/src/native/crypto/native_crypto.cpp
@@ -532,13 +532,20 @@ void RegisterCryptoLibraryApi(State *s) {
 
     // On OpenSSL 3.x, RC4 / Blowfish / DES are in the "legacy" provider which
     // is not loaded by default. Load it once here so callers don't have to
-    // configure openssl.cnf manually. Failure is silently ignored: if the
-    // legacy provider is already loaded (via config), or if this OpenSSL build
-    // doesn't have it, the rest of the API still works.
+    // configure openssl.cnf manually. Failure only degrades the legacy ciphers:
+    // the rest of the API still works, so warn instead of throwing.
     static std::once_flag legacy_provider_init;
-    std::call_once(legacy_provider_init, []() {
+    std::call_once(legacy_provider_init, [s]() {
 #if OPENSSL_VERSION_MAJOR >= 3
-        OSSL_PROVIDER_load(nullptr, "legacy");
+        if (OSSL_PROVIDER_load(nullptr, "legacy") == nullptr) {
+            // Most common cause: libcrypto cannot find its provider modules
+            // (ossl-modules/legacy), e.g. a static OpenSSL whose MODULESDIR is wrong.
+            LOG_WARN(s,
+                     "crypto",
+                     "failed to load the OpenSSL \"legacy\" provider: crypto.rc4 / blowfish / des "
+                     "and the matching crypto.encrypt/decrypt algorithms will fail. "
+                     "check OPENSSL_MODULES or the OpenSSL modules directory");
+        }
         OSSL_PROVIDER_load(nullptr, "default");
 #endif
     });