Mastercard is reportedly in late-stage talks to buy blockchain startup ZeroHash for up to $2 billion, according to Fortune. You might not have heard of Zero Hash before, and that’s fine; it’s not really built for regular users. Zero Hash runs behind the scenes, helping other companies offer crypto features without having to build all the complicated tech or deal with regulations themselves. Think of it as a “crypto backend.” They handle everything from wallets and trading to stablecoins and compliance, while apps or banks just plug into their system with a simple API. So, if a Fintech app wants to let users buy, sell, or send crypto, Zero Hash makes it happen quietly in the background. They’re licensed in multiple regions and already work with big names like Stripe, Franklin Templeton, Ramp, and Transak. JUST IN: Mastercard to acquire crypto startup Zerohash for nearly $2 billion, Fortune reports. pic.twitter.com/b5sdBXoBCQ — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) October 29, 2025 DISCOVER: Best New Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2025  So, Why Acquire ZeroHash? Mastercard has been dipping its toes into crypto for a while now. The potential Zero Hash acquisition could make a lot of sense for them. The biggest reason? Regulation and licensing. Zero Hash already holds licenses and regulatory approvals across multiple regions, which means buying them could save Mastercard years of legal and compliance work. It would also give them a fast track to meeting crypto regulations globally. On top of that, Mastercard has been exploring stablecoin-based settlements and tokenized assets; they even ran pilots using USDC. Zero Hash could give them a ready-made platform to scale those experiments into real products. And since Zero Hash’s API-based setup is designed for powering other companies’ financial tools, it fits right into Mastercard’s business model. Owning it would let Mastercard roll out “crypto-as-a-service” directly to banks, fintechs, and payment processors. DISCOVER: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025 CT not knowing who Zerohash is tells you all you need to know. Learn the industry players — noegrets (@noegrets3) October 29, 2025 With Solana’s new deal with Western Union shaking up the finance world, moves like this might just be Mastercard’s way of keeping up. If they pull it off, expect other giants like Visa, PayPal, and Stripe to accelerate their crypto plays too. DISCOVER: Best Meme Coin ICOs to Invest in 2025 Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates Key Takeaways Mastercard’s rumored $2B move for Zero Hash is all about skipping years of crypto licensing and compliance hurdles. Zero Hash’s tech could let Mastercard instantly launch crypto-as-a-service for banks and fintechs, putting pressure on rivals like Visa and PayPal. The post Why Mastercard Wants to Spend $2B on a Company You’ve Never Heard Of appeared first on 99Bitcoins.Mastercard is reportedly in late-stage talks to buy blockchain startup ZeroHash for up to $2 billion, according to Fortune. You might not have heard of Zero Hash before, and that’s fine; it’s not really built for regular users. Zero Hash runs behind the scenes, helping other companies offer crypto features without having to build all the complicated tech or deal with regulations themselves. Think of it as a “crypto backend.” They handle everything from wallets and trading to stablecoins and compliance, while apps or banks just plug into their system with a simple API. So, if a Fintech app wants to let users buy, sell, or send crypto, Zero Hash makes it happen quietly in the background. They’re licensed in multiple regions and already work with big names like Stripe, Franklin Templeton, Ramp, and Transak. JUST IN: Mastercard to acquire crypto startup Zerohash for nearly $2 billion, Fortune reports. pic.twitter.com/b5sdBXoBCQ — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) October 29, 2025 DISCOVER: Best New Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2025  So, Why Acquire ZeroHash? Mastercard has been dipping its toes into crypto for a while now. The potential Zero Hash acquisition could make a lot of sense for them. The biggest reason? Regulation and licensing. Zero Hash already holds licenses and regulatory approvals across multiple regions, which means buying them could save Mastercard years of legal and compliance work. It would also give them a fast track to meeting crypto regulations globally. On top of that, Mastercard has been exploring stablecoin-based settlements and tokenized assets; they even ran pilots using USDC. Zero Hash could give them a ready-made platform to scale those experiments into real products. And since Zero Hash’s API-based setup is designed for powering other companies’ financial tools, it fits right into Mastercard’s business model. Owning it would let Mastercard roll out “crypto-as-a-service” directly to banks, fintechs, and payment processors. DISCOVER: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025 CT not knowing who Zerohash is tells you all you need to know. Learn the industry players — noegrets (@noegrets3) October 29, 2025 With Solana’s new deal with Western Union shaking up the finance world, moves like this might just be Mastercard’s way of keeping up. If they pull it off, expect other giants like Visa, PayPal, and Stripe to accelerate their crypto plays too. DISCOVER: Best Meme Coin ICOs to Invest in 2025 Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates Key Takeaways Mastercard’s rumored $2B move for Zero Hash is all about skipping years of crypto licensing and compliance hurdles. Zero Hash’s tech could let Mastercard instantly launch crypto-as-a-service for banks and fintechs, putting pressure on rivals like Visa and PayPal. The post Why Mastercard Wants to Spend $2B on a Company You’ve Never Heard Of appeared first on 99Bitcoins.

Why Mastercard Wants to Spend $2B on a Company You’ve Never Heard Of

2025/10/31 07:56

Mastercard is reportedly in late-stage talks to buy blockchain startup ZeroHash for up to $2 billion, according to Fortune. You might not have heard of Zero Hash before, and that’s fine; it’s not really built for regular users.

Zero Hash runs behind the scenes, helping other companies offer crypto features without having to build all the complicated tech or deal with regulations themselves. Think of it as a “crypto backend.” They handle everything from wallets and trading to stablecoins and compliance, while apps or banks just plug into their system with a simple API.

So, if a Fintech app wants to let users buy, sell, or send crypto, Zero Hash makes it happen quietly in the background. They’re licensed in multiple regions and already work with big names like Stripe, Franklin Templeton, Ramp, and Transak.

DISCOVER: Best New Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2025 

So, Why Acquire ZeroHash?

Mastercard has been dipping its toes into crypto for a while now. The potential Zero Hash acquisition could make a lot of sense for them. The biggest reason? Regulation and licensing.

Zero Hash already holds licenses and regulatory approvals across multiple regions, which means buying them could save Mastercard years of legal and compliance work. It would also give them a fast track to meeting crypto regulations globally.

On top of that, Mastercard has been exploring stablecoin-based settlements and tokenized assets; they even ran pilots using USDC. Zero Hash could give them a ready-made platform to scale those experiments into real products.

And since Zero Hash’s API-based setup is designed for powering other companies’ financial tools, it fits right into Mastercard’s business model. Owning it would let Mastercard roll out “crypto-as-a-service” directly to banks, fintechs, and payment processors.

DISCOVER: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025

With Solana’s new deal with Western Union shaking up the finance world, moves like this might just be Mastercard’s way of keeping up. If they pull it off, expect other giants like Visa, PayPal, and Stripe to accelerate their crypto plays too.

DISCOVER: Best Meme Coin ICOs to Invest in 2025

Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates

Key Takeaways

  • Mastercard’s rumored $2B move for Zero Hash is all about skipping years of crypto licensing and compliance hurdles.
  • Zero Hash’s tech could let Mastercard instantly launch crypto-as-a-service for banks and fintechs, putting pressure on rivals like Visa and PayPal.

The post Why Mastercard Wants to Spend $2B on a Company You’ve Never Heard Of appeared first on 99Bitcoins.

Disclaimer: The articles reposted on this site are sourced from public platforms and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MEXC. All rights remain with the original authors. If you believe any content infringes on third-party rights, please contact service@support.mexc.com for removal. MEXC makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content and is not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided. The content does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or endorsement by MEXC.
Share Insights

You May Also Like

On-chain fee report for the first half of 2025: 1,124 protocols achieved profitability, with revenue exceeding $20 billion.

On-chain fee report for the first half of 2025: 1,124 protocols achieved profitability, with revenue exceeding $20 billion.

Author: 1kx network Compiled by: Tim, PANews 1kx has released its most comprehensive on-chain revenue report to date for the crypto market: the "1kx On-Chain Revenue Report (First Half of 2025)". The report compiles verified on-chain fee data from over 1,200 protocols, clearly depicting user payment paths, value flows, and the core factors driving growth. Why are on-chain fees so important? Because this is the most direct signal of genuine payment demand: On-chain ecosystem = open, global, and has investment value Off-chain ecosystem = restricted, mature Data comparison reveals development trends: on-chain application fees increased by 126% year-on-year, while off-chain fees only increased by 15%. How large is the market? In 2020, on-chain activity was still in the experimental stage, but by 2025 it will have developed into a real-time measurable $20 billion economy. Users are paying for hundreds of application scenarios: transactions, buying and selling, data storage, cross-application collaboration, and we have counted 1,124 protocols that have achieved on-chain profitability this year. How are the fees generated? DeFi remains a core pillar, contributing 63% of total fees, but the industry landscape is rapidly evolving: The wallet business (which surged 260% year-on-year) has transformed the user interface into a profit center. Consumer apps (200% growth) directly monetize user traffic. DePIN (which surged 400%) brings computing power and connectivity services onto the blockchain. Does the on-chain economy truly exist? Although the total cost did not exceed the 2021 peak, the ecological health is stronger than before: At that time, on-chain fees accounted for over 40% of ETH transactions; now, transaction costs have decreased by 86%. The number of profitable agreements increased eightfold. Token holders' dividends hit a record high What are the core driving factors? The asset price determines the on-chain fees denominated in USD, which is in line with expectations, but the following should be noted: Price fluctuations trigger seasonal cycles 21 years later, application costs and valuations show a strong causal relationship (increased costs drive up valuations). The influence of on-chain factors in specific tracks is significant. Who is the winner? The top 20 protocols account for 70% of the total fees, but the rankings change frequently, as no industry can be disrupted as rapidly as the crypto space. The top 5 are: meteora, jito, jupitter, raydium, and solana. A discrepancy exists between expenses and valuation: Although application-based projects dominate expense generation, their market capitalization share has remained almost unchanged. Why is this? The market's valuation logic for application-based projects is similar to that for traditional enterprises: DeFi has a price-to-earnings ratio of about 17 times, while public chains have a valuation as high as 3900 times, which reflects additional narrative value (store of value, national-level infrastructure, etc.). What are the future trends for on-chain fees? Our baseline forecast shows that on-chain fees will exceed $32 billion in 2026, representing a year-on-year increase of 63%, primarily driven by the application layer. RWA, DePIN, wallets, and consumer applications are entering a period of accelerated development, while L1 fees will gradually stabilize as scaling technology continues to advance. Driven by favorable regulations, we believe this marks the beginning of the crypto industry's maturity phase: application scale, fee revenue, and value distribution will eventually advance in tandem. Full version: https://1kx.io/writing/2025-onchain-revenue-report
Share
PANews2025/10/31 16:43