Mastercard Withdraws from Zerohash Investment, Shifts Focus to BNVK for Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure

ChainCatcher report: Mastercard has abandoned its investment plan for cryptocurrency infrastructure company Zerohash, following Zerohash’s March agreement to acquire UK stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for $1.8 billion. In January this year, Mastercard had considered a strategic investment in Chicago-based Zerohash. At the time, Zerohash was seeking to raise $250 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, and the company is now advancing a new funding round with a higher valuation. Founded in 2017, Zerohash primarily provides APIs and developer tools for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized assets. Meanwhile, recent transactions such as those involving Payward, the parent company of Kraken, and Bullish indicate that consolidation in the digital asset infrastructure sector continues. In terms of stablecoin payment initiatives, Mastercard has acquired BVNK for $1.8 billion, with an additional potential $300 million in performance-based consideration. BVNK currently serves payment and payroll platforms such as Worldpay and Deel for cross-border payments, fund settlement, and financial management. Mastercard plans to integrate BVNK’s technology into its Mastercard Move network to enable 24/7 stablecoin settlement for payment institutions and merchant acquirers, while exploring the addition of stablecoin checkout functionality within payment gateways. Analysts believe this transaction will further intensify competition between Mastercard and Visa in their payment network strategies and accelerate the transition of traditional cross-border clearing systems toward stablecoin-based settlement models.