Mastercard In Talks To Acquire Zero Hash For Up To $2 Billion: Fortune
Mastercard is in late-stage talks to buy blockchain infrastructure firm Zero Hash for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion as the payments giant moves to expand its foothold in stablecoin settlement, Fortune reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. It said the deal would give Mastercard control of an entity that processed more than $2 billion in tokenized fund flows this year and raised $104 million in a funding round led by Interactive Brokers and Morgan Stanley in September. Neither Mastercard nor Zero Hash has publicly commented on the report, but the move underscores how competition in the stablecoin space is intensifying among leading traditional finance firms seeking faster, borderless settlement systems. A potential acquisition would mark Mastercard’s most significant push yet into blockchain-based payments, coming as rivals including Visa, PayPal, and Western Union accelerate their own stablecoin initiatives following new US regulation. Mastercard May Lose Ou...