Mastercard has its sights on another crypto company. The payments goliath is said to be in late-stage talks to acquire the crypto and stablecoin infrastructure startup Zerohash for between $1.5 and $2 billion, according to five sources familiar with the deal, who asked for anonymity to discuss private business discussions. The deal may still fall through but, if closed, it would represent one of Mastercard’s biggest bets yet on stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies pegged to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar.
Founded in 2017, Chicago-based Zerohash builds stablecoin and blockchain infrastructure, including enabling payments and crypto trading. The potential acquisition follows previous discussions Mastercard had with the stablecoin startup BVNK. The payments network and Coinbase were in late-stage talks to acquire the startup for around $2 billion, according to six sources familiar with the negotiations. Coinbase appears to have won the bidding war and is in exclusivity with the company, meaning that BVNK can’t entertain offers from other bidders, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
