Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is looking to expand the stablecoin market through a proposed acquisition of Zerohash. Mastercard plans to buy the crypto and stablecoin infrastructure platform for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Currently, the deal to acquire Zerohash by Mastercard is in its late stages, meaning the deal may not go through. However, if the Zerohash deal does not go ahead as planned, Mastercard will become a major player in the stablecoin market in the future.
Mastercard is taking advantage of regulatory clarity to move into stablecoins
As a leading payments company, Mastercard is eager to build its stablecoin amid clear regulations in the United States. In particular, President Donald Trump’s passage of the Genius Act has attracted more institutional investors to the stablecoin market, which recently surpassed $300 billion in net worth.
Previously, Mastercard competed with Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) to acquire stablecoin startup BVBK. However, people familiar with the matter noted that Coinbase may have won the acquisition of BVBK.
The potential acquisition of Zerohash follows the recent fundraising led by Interactive Brokers, which raised $104 million at a $1 billion valuation.
Bigger picture
Mastercard’s potential strategic acquisition of Zerohash will increase mainstream adoption of digital assets. Competition between Visa and Mastercard has become fierce in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA).
If Mastercard eventually acquires Zerohash, confidence in the blockchain payments industry will increase dramatically. Furthermore, Mastercard has hundreds of millions of customers worldwide and a potential stablecoin development will improve its future growth prospects.
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