In what could be a blockbuster acquisition, Mastercard is reportedly closing in on a deal to acquire Zerohash.
Zerohash provides financial institutions with technology to offer crypto and stablecoin trading and tokenization services. As demand for these capabilities has surged in recent years, Zerohash has garnered significant attention and investment from major firms, including Morgan Stanley and SoFi.
One of Zerohash’s most notable partnerships is its recent deal with OnePay, a fintech majority-owned by Walmart. Under the arrangement, Zerohash will facilitate crypto trading within OnePay’s app, opening the door for crypto purchases at the world’s largest retailer.
Mastercard is reportedly set to acquire the company for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.
“This is a solid example of Mastercard’s forward-thinking strategy,” said Joel Hugentobler, Cryptocurrency Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research. “It’s a shift from partnerships to owning the infrastructure which should enable them to provide an in-house crypto or stablecoin as a service-type product (e.g. on and off ramps, custody, settlement, and staking).”
“Zerohash brings licensing—a U.S. money transmitter and a BitLicense—and clients,” he said. “From my understanding, they were going to be the company behind Morgan Stanley-owned E-Trade’s crypto product rollout next year, in addition to providing B2B infrastructure.”
Signaling Momentum
Mastercard’s move comes as U.S. stablecoin transactions surge, driven largely by the passage of stablecoin regulations. The use of stablecoins is also gaining significant traction in business-to-business and cross-border payments.
“This also signals momentum in the industry,” Hugentobler said. “This is one of the bigger deals, if not the biggest acquisitions that we’ve seen. All the embedded crypto rails that we picture are happening right in front of us.”
The Continuing Zeitgeist
In this zeitgeist, more companies than ever are expanding into digital assets. Notably, Visa recently piloted a program allowing businesses to prefund transactions via stablecoins on its Visa Direct cross-border payments platform.
As these companies race to add new functionalities, acquisitions are likely to continue. For example, Stripe acquired stablecoin company Bridge for roughly $1.1 billion in what was then one of the largest crypto-related deals to date. If Mastercard completes its acquisition of Zerohash, it would represent a continuation of this trend—rather than the end of it.
