Mastercard is in late-stage talks to acquire crypto start-up Zerohash for between US$1.5-billion and $2-billion, Fortune reported on Wednesday, citing five sources familiar with the matter.
If the deal goes through, it would be Mastercard’s one of the biggest bets yet on stablecoins, the report said, adding that the talks might still fall through. Mastercard and Zerohash declined to comment.
Card firms are increasingly integrating stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to assets such as the US dollar, into their systems, viewing the technology as a faster, cheaper and safer alternative to traditional payment methods, while tapping into blockchain infrastructure.
Mastercard has long recognised the potential of stablecoins, as reflected in its partnerships with companies such as Crypto.com, OKX and Kraken.
Zerohash, founded in 2017, develops infrastructure for stablecoins and blockchains, which allow companies such as Mastercard and other finance firms in services such crypto trading, custody and staking.
Last month, Morgan Stanley said it would offer cryptocurrency trading on its platform E-Trade from the first half of 2026 through a partnership with Zerohash.
The crypto start-up completed a financing round of a little more than $100-million earlier in the year, giving it a valuation of over $1-billion. The funding round was led by Interactive Brokers, while Morgan Stanley, SoFi and others also participated.
BVNK
The potential deal for Zerohash follows previous discussions by Mastercard and Coinbase to buy stablecoin start-up BVNK for about $2-billion, the Fortune report said. However, Coinbase appears to have won that race and is in exclusivity with BVNK.
Coinbase declined to comment, while BVNK did not immediately respond. — Pritam Biswas, (c) 2025 Reuters
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