Nikolas Sargeant
Stablecoin infrastructure provider Zerohash has obtained a license under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, positioning itself among the first infrastructure companies authorized to deliver stablecoin services throughout the EU. The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets granted the approval, enabling Zerohash Europe to serve banking institutions, fintech firms, and payment platforms across all 30 European Economic Area nations.
The licensing achievement arrives amid speculation that payments giant Mastercard is pursuing a substantial acquisition of the Chicago-based company. Anonymous sources indicated that Mastercard has entered advanced negotiations to purchase Zerohash in a transaction valued between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, according to recent industry reports.
Founded in 2017, Zerohash provides cryptocurrency infrastructure solutions to major financial players including Morgan Stanley, Franklin Templeton, and Stripe. The company's new regulatory status as a crypto-asset service provider allows it to function as foundational infrastructure for organizations developing tokenized assets, stablecoins, and blockchain-based financial products across Europe.
The development aligns with Mastercard's broader push into the stablecoin sector. The payments company recently enabled merchants in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to settle transactions using Circle's USDC and Euro Coin, and collaborated with Kazakhstan's central bank on a pilot stablecoin project pegged to the local tenge currency.
