Mastercard to acquire stablecoin infrastructure company Zero Hash for about $2 billion

JH Kim

Summary

Mastercard said it plans to acquire the stablecoin infrastructure company Zero Hash for about $2 billion.
The deal is described as one of the largest virtual asset infrastructure investments by a traditional financial firm.
Mastercard said it will use the acquisition to accelerate blockchain payment network expansion and stablecoin payment processing.

Global payments company Mastercard plans to acquire stablecoin infrastructure startup Zero Hash for about $2 billion. The acquisition is being evaluated as one of the largest virtual asset (cryptocurrency) infrastructure investment cases among traditional financial firms.

On the 29th (local time), Fortune reported that Mastercard plans to integrate stablecoin settlement functionality into its own payment network through the Zero Hash acquisition. The acquisition process is expected to be officially completed after regulatory approval.

Zero Hash is an infrastructure company that provides institutions and corporate clients with stablecoin issuance, custody, and on- and off-ramps (conversion to fiat currency) solutions. Mastercard intends to use the acquisition to accelerate stablecoin payment processing and the expansion of business-to-business blockchain payment networks.

The outlet said, "This acquisition is part of a move by global payment networks to strategically absorb digital asset settlement technology," and added, "It can be interpreted as a signal that Mastercard is chasing Visa's earlier model in the blockchain payments market."