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Mastercard Drops Zerohash Investment Plan After $1.8 Billion BVNK Acquisition

Mastercard Drops Zerohash Investment Plan After $1.8 Billion BVNK Acquisition

Zerohash is seeking new funding at a valuation above $1.5 billion after Mastercard abandoned its investment plans, underscoring both investor caution and continued demand for digital asset infrastructure.

Fact Check
All three components of the claim are strongly supported by multiple independent, credible sources. Fortune (March 17, 2026) and CNBC (March 17, 2026) both confirm the Mastercard-BVNK acquisition at up to $1.8 billion, and Fortune explicitly notes that Mastercard's prior talks with Zerohash fell through before the BVNK deal. PANewsLab (May 19, 2026), citing CoinDesk as its primary source, confirms that Zerohash is now pursuing new funding at above $1.5 billion valuation after Mastercard dropped its investment plans. The causal chain - Mastercard chose BVNK over Zerohash, leaving Zerohash to seek outside funding - is consistent across all sources. The only minor uncertainty is that the CoinDesk primary article (May 19, 2026) was inaccessible due to a security checkpoint, but its content is reliably summarized by PANewsLab and its URL is cited by Fortune.
Summary

Mastercard has dropped plans to invest in crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash after completing its $1.8 billion acquisition of BVNK, according to the report. Zerohash is now seeking fresh funding at a valuation above $1.5 billion. The development points to a strategic shift by a major payments company away from a direct investment in Zerohash, while also showing that digital asset infrastructure providers are still pursuing capital despite changing market conditions.

Terms & Concepts
  • digital asset infrastructure: The technology and service layer that supports functions such as trading, payments, custody, and settlement for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
  • valuation: A company’s estimated worth in the market, often used in fundraising to set the price of an investment.
  • funding: Capital raised from investors or other sources to support a company’s growth, operations, or expansion.