Mastercard Goes All Into Web3 Via Acquisition of Zerohash for Nearly $2B

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is eyeing to expand the stablecoin market through an intended acquisition of Zerohash. According to persons familiar with the matter, Mastercard intends to purchase the crypto and stablecoin infrastructure platform for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.

Currently, the deal to acquire Zerohash by Mastercard is in the late stage, thus a possibility of the deal falling through. However, if the Zerohash deal does not go ahead as planned, Mastercard will become a key player in the stablecoin market ahead.

Mastercard Takes Advantage of Regulatory Clarity to Venture into Stablecoins

As a top payment company, Mastercard is keen to build its stablecoin amid regulatory clarity in the United States. Notably, the enactment of the Genius Act, by President Donald Trump, has attracted more institutional investors into the stablecoin market, which recently surpassed $300 billion in net valuation.

Previously, Mastercard had been competing with Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) to acquire stablecoin startup BVBK. However, people familiar with this matter noted that Coinbase has possibly won the BVBK acquisition.

The potential acquisition of Zerohash, follows its recent fundraising, led by Interactive Brokers, which raised $104 million at a $1 billion valuation.

Bigger Picture

The potential strategic acquisition of Zerohash by Mastercard will enhance the mainstream adoption of digital assets. The competition between Visa and Mastercard has been growing fierce in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA).

Ultimately, if Mastercard gets to acquire Zerohash, the confidence in the blockchain payment industry will surge. Furthermore, Mastercard has hundreds of millions of customers globally and a potential stablecoin development will enhance its future growth prospects.