Mastercard to Acquire ZeroHash for $2 Billion

Competition with Visa

In a landmark move that could reshape the future of digital finance, Mastercard is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations to acquire ZeroHash, a US-based digital asset infrastructure provider, at a valuation of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.

The deal would mark Mastercard's boldest move yet into cryptocurrency payments, stablecoin issuance and tokenization technology, moving beyond its traditional payments business.

If completed, the acquisition will integrate ZeroHash’s regulatory-compliant crypto infrastructure directly into Mastercard’s global network — connecting fiat payments, stablecoins, and tokenized assets in one interoperable system.

About ZeroHash

Founded in 2017, ZeroHash provides cryptocurrency and stablecoin infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to fintech companies, banks, and payments companies.

ZeroHash's API allows institutions to offer cryptocurrency trading, custody, rewards, and yield products without having to manage regulations or technical complexities themselves.

• Convert fiat to crypto and crypto to fiat for over 25 assets.

• Stablecoin Infrastructure: Custody, issuance, and compliance layers for regulated stablecoin operations.

• API to convert traditional financial instruments — such as reward points, deposits, and securities — into tokenized digital assets.

Registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) with FinCEN and licensed in more than 50 US states, Mastercard provides itself with a ready legal framework for digital asset activities.

Mastercard's customers include some of the biggest names in fintech — Stripe, MoonPay, Interactive Brokers and DraftKings — many of which have relied on ZeroHash to integrate cryptocurrency functionality into their platforms.

Zerohash's Rails Valued at $1.5–2 Billion

The talks, which are in the final stages of due diligence, value Zerohash—a secretive startup launched in 2021 backed by Bolt and Wintrust—at between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, a 10-15x increase from its $150 million Series B funding round and a $1.2 billion market cap by 2024. Sources familiar with the deal describe the acquisition as “transformational,” combining Zerohash’s API for converting USDC and PYUSD with Mastercard’s 3.5 billion cards and B2B Connect, which has cleared $100 billion by 2024.

Zerohash, founded by former Coinbase executives Dharmesh Popat and John Wise, specializes in “embedded crypto” for fintech companies—allowing apps like Robinhood to process $5 billion in crypto purchases without building a wallet.

Mastercard’s FinCEN- and NYDFS-compliant technology platform supports more than 50 fiat transactions and tokenization partnerships, processing $10 billion year-to-date. In a recent earnings call, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach hinted at “expanding from cards to programmable currencies,” in line with pilot projects like Visa’s four-coin stablecoin network. The deal, which is expected to close in Q1 2026 pending antitrust approval, would mark Mastercard’s largest crypto investment since the USDC custody trial in 2021.

Master joins the Digital Asset race

Mastercard's acquisition of ZeroHash reflects a strategic evolution from payments systems to programmable currency infrastructure.

For years, the company has been experimenting with blockchain pilot projects — from a CBDC testing platform to a tokenized bank deposit network. This acquisition will consolidate those efforts into a single, scalable, native cryptocurrency infrastructure layer.

Strategically, Mastercard’s pursuit of ZeroHash isn’t a crypto play — it’s an evolution in the payments space. Instead of focusing on speculative assets, Mastercard is betting on regulated stablecoins, real-world tokens, and institutional infrastructure — the pillars of the next wave of blockchain adoption.

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