Crypto Reporter
Shalini Nagarajan
Crypto Reporter
Shalini Nagarajan
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Mastercard is in late-stage talks to buy Zerohash for roughly $1.5b to $2b, a move that would deepen the card network’s push into stablecoin and on-chain settlement, Fortune reported Wednesday.
Founded in 2017, Chicago-based Zerohash provides the plumbing that lets fintechs, brokers and merchants add crypto, stablecoin and tokenization features via APIs, including compliant custody, conversions and payouts.
Bringing that stack in-house would give Mastercard more direct control over how fiat funding and digital assets settle across its rails, a priority as banks and payment companies experiment with 24/7 money.
Mastercard Joins Stripe and Coinbase in Bidding for the Future of Tokenized Money
If completed, the acquisition would be one of Mastercard’s biggest bets on stablecoins, reflecting a broader shift as large payment providers look to blockchains for faster cross-border transfers and lower operating costs.
The company has already rolled out on- and off-ramp services with crypto partners and piloted programs that translate crypto balances into spendable fiat at the point of sale.
The competitive backdrop is heating up. Stripe recently bought stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in a deal reported around $1.1b, while Coinbase has been in advanced talks to acquire London-based BVNK in what could become the largest pure-play stablecoin acquisition to date.
Those moves signal a race to secure enterprise-grade issuers, compliance tooling and payout networks before stablecoin volumes migrate from trading venues into mainstream payments.
Zerohash’s White-Label Model Gives Mastercard Ready Infrastructure for Crypto Access
For Mastercard, Zerohash could accelerate stablecoin settlement for corporate and marketplace flows, and help the network offer programmable payouts that match crypto’s always-on cadence. Banks are also testing tokenized deposits and on-chain treasury tools, creating demand for intermediaries that can bridge fiat accounts, compliance checks and public chains without forcing merchants to rebuild their stacks.
Zerohash has raised capital from financial incumbents and market-structure investors, and has positioned itself as a white-label provider that lets regulated firms add crypto features without taking on direct custody risk. Folding that capability into a global scheme could shorten integration timelines for merchants and fintechs that already process through Mastercard.
Patchy Networks and Varying Compliance Rules Still Slow Stablecoin Integration
The push comes as stablecoins gain traction with corporates for payroll, treasury and cross-border supplier payments, thanks to near-instant settlement and transparent ledgers.
But the infrastructure remains patchy, with fragmentation across chains, compliance regimes and cash-out options. Consolidation by large processors and banks is aimed at standardizing those rails.
Neither Mastercard nor Zero Hash has publicly confirmed the terms.
A final agreement, if reached, would underline how quickly crypto payments are moving from experiments to core product road maps at the world’s biggest payment companies.
