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Mastercard Abandons Investment in Zerohash, Shifts Focus to BVNK for Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure

1 hours ago

On May 20, global payments leader Mastercard has scrapped its planned investment in Chicago-based crypto infrastructure company Zerohash—just two months after agreeing to acquire UK stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for $18 billion. Back in January, Mastercard held discussions for a strategic investment in Zerohash, which was then seeking to raise $2.5 billion at a $15 billion valuation. Founded in 2017, Zerohash builds application programming interfaces (APIs) and developer tools for crypto, stablecoin, and tokenization products; it is currently pursuing a new funding round at a higher valuation. The shift comes amid ongoing consolidation in the digital asset infrastructure sector, with recent deals involving Kraken parent Payward and Bullish signaling the trend’s continuation. Mastercard’s BVNK deal includes an $18 billion base purchase price, plus the potential for an additional $3 billion in performance-based payments. BVNK counts platforms like Worldpay and Deel as clients, providing cross-border payment processing, fund settlement, and financial management services for those partners. Mastercard plans to integrate BVNK’s technology into its Mastercard Move network, enabling 24/7 stablecoin settlement between payment institutions and merchant acquirers. The firm also aims to add stablecoin settlement functionality to its broader payment gateway. Analysts say the BVNK acquisition will intensify competition between Mastercard and rival Visa in their respective “payment networkization” strategies, while accelerating the evolution of the traditional cross-border clearing system toward a stablecoin settlement model.
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Analysis: a16z may have become the sixth-largest entity in HYPE's holdings, with a single-coin unrealized gain of nearly $80 million

On May 20, analysis from AI Goddess indicates that Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has become the sixth-largest entity holding HYPE, boasting an unrealized single-token gain of $79.29 million. Key accumulation metrics for a16z’s HYPE holdings include: - 206,000 HYPE tokens added over the past 11 hours, worth $9.95 million at current rates - 2.35 million HYPE tokens accumulated since April 16, valued at $102 million - 4.92 million HYPE tokens accumulated since the start of 2026, totaling $183 million - A large-scale accumulation phase launched in August 2025, bringing total holdings to 9.18 million HYPE tokens with an average acquisition price of $38.77 per token AI Goddess further noted that after deducting amounts transferred to trading platforms and liquidity providers, a16z retains 8.844 million HYPE tokens spread across dozens of addresses. While this lands it in the top six of HYPE’s overall holder rankings, the top five spots are all occupied by HYPE’s in-house ecosystem — meaning a

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US Treasury Yield Surges to Highest Level Since 2007, Market Concerned About Inflation and Escalating Middle East Conflict

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Blockchain Game The Beacon Season 1 will launch on May 25th, introducing a 7.7 million BCN reward pool

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U.S. Senator Warren Lambasts OCC for Unauthorized Regulatory Actions, Nine Major Crypto Firms' Trust Charters Face Revocation Crisis

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Bankr Confirms Hack: 14 Wallets Compromised, Transactions Temporarily Suspended with Full Reimbursement Pledge

May 20: Base Layer AI project Bankr officially announced its system has confirmed an attacker accessed 14 of its wallets. The project has temporarily frozen relevant functions and is conducting a thorough investigation to verify all details of the incident. Officials also confirmed that every affected user will be fully compensated for their losses. Earlier, Bankr released a preliminary notice stating it had received multiple reports of wallet breaches and prudently suspended its transaction functions for investigation. The team will continue disclosing subsequent updates as more details become available.

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