Mastercard executives sidestepped questions about a reported $2 billion deal to acquire crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash during their third-quarter earnings call. The card network emphasized a broad acquisition strategy without confirming the speculation. This comes amid accelerating mergers and acquisitions in the digital assets sector.
Mastercard's top executives avoided direct commentary on a Fortune report claiming the company is in late-stage talks to buy Zerohash, a crypto infrastructure startup, for as much as $2 billion. The discussion arose during a webcast on Thursday to review the firm's third-quarter financial results, where an analyst referenced the report and inquired about interest in crypto assets.
CEO Michael Miebach responded by sighing before speaking generally on acquisitions. As a former chief product officer, he highlighted the company's approach to both organic innovation and purchases. "There isn’t just one big bet," Miebach said. "There’s a few things that we’re trying at any given point in time." He stressed pursuing a mix of building and buying businesses, adding, "The innovation muscle is all well, and it's not just about mining companies out there." When pressed, Miebach stated, "We are not commenting on market rumors—you would have not expected me to say anything else." He acknowledged seeing the article.
CFO Sachin Mehra reinforced the strategy, noting that decisions to buy, build, or partner depend on specific areas. "The pipeline is robust," Mehra said. "We are very, very deliberate about how we go about filtering through and funneling through on that pipeline to make sure it’s on point, and it’s going to deliver the synergistic value that we expect." A Mastercard spokesperson later emailed, "We don’t comment on speculation," when asked about the Fortune report.
The earnings showed strong performance: net income rose 20% to $3.9 billion, while revenue increased 15% to $8.6 billion. Based in Purchase, New York, Mastercard's stance aligns with broader trends in crypto M&A. A Citizens report noted that such deals are intensifying due to regulatory clarity from acts like the GENIUS Act on stablecoins and the expected CLARITY Act on market structure. Tokenization is projected to generate nearly $100 billion in annual revenue by 2030, with stablecoin capitalization reaching $315 billion, up from $250 billion midyear and on track for $1 trillion.