Payments giant Mastercard is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations to acquire crypto company Zerohash, Fortune reports, citing five sources familiar with the potential deal.
Zerohash is an American startup that provides infrastructure for stablecoins and other digital assets. The deal could reach about $2 billion, though completion is not yet guaranteed, according to the statement.
What Zerohash Does & Why It Matters
Zerohash is a leading B2B crypto and stablecoin infrastructure provider. It enables banks, brokerages, fintechs and payment firms to build crypto and digital-asset services without having to build the entire backend themselves.
Key capabilities of Zerohash include:
- API-first, modular infrastructure that supports trading, custody, deposits/withdrawals, tokenization, payments and on/off-ramps.
- Wide regulatory footprint: In the U.S., Zerohash is a FinCEN-registered Money Service Business and regulated Money Transmitter across jurisdictions. European, Australian and other affiliates operate as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) in their markets.
- Support for stablecoins and various blockchains: For example, Zerohash recently announced support for the DOT token and the Polkadot ecosystem for deposits and withdrawals.
- Strong growth and funding: The company recently raised around $100 million and is approaching a valuation near $1 billion, underscoring enterprise interest in crypto infrastructure.
In short: Zerohash acts as the “behind-the-scenes” engine that allows traditional financial and fintech firms to integrate crypto and stablecoin capabilities rapidly and compliantly.
Strategic Implications For Mastercard
Zerohash’s infrastructure aligns well with Mastercard’s broader strategy to treat cryptocurrencies and stablecoins not purely as speculative assets but as payment technologies. Mastercard has publicly stated that it sees crypto primarily as a means to speed up payments and improve efficiency, rather than as a purely revolutionary phenomenon.
By acquiring Zerohash, Mastercard would gain:
- Ready-built infrastructure to offer stablecoin rails, trading, custody and other digital-asset services through its existing network.
- Access to enterprise clients already using Zerohash (banks, brokerages, payment providers) — which could accelerate Mastercard’s entry into crypto-enabled payments.
- A stronger position in the race among traditional financial firms to integrate digital assets, giving it a competitive edge over peers.
This move also follows Mastercard’s earlier discussions to acquire another crypto startup, BVNK, which likewise focused on stablecoins. Those talks reached an advanced stage, though they ultimately shifted to exclusivity with Coinbase.
Source: https://coinpaper.com/12007/mastercard-nears-2-billion-deal-to-acquire-zerohash
