Blockchain infrastructure company Zerohash is in talks to raise $250 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The company recently pulled out of acquisition talks with Mastercard, CoinDesk reported, although the payments giant is still considering a strategic investment in Zerohash and discussions are still ongoing.
The increase comes amid growing demand for enterprise-grade crypto infrastructure as more financial institutions move toward offering tokenized assets, stablecoins, and on-chain settlement at scale.
Zerohash did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication. The amount could change as discussions are still ongoing.
Fortune reported in October that Mastercard was in late-stage talks to acquire Zerohash in a deal that could value the possible takeover candidate at up to $2 billion.
Zerohash raised $104 million in a Series D-2 round in October led by Interactive Brokers, valuing the company at $1 billion.
This round attracted new investors, including Morgan Stanley, funds managed by Apollo, SoFi, Jump Crypto, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, FTMO, IMC and Liberty City Ventures, alongside existing backers PEAK6, tastytrade and Nyca Partners, the company said at the time.
Founded in 2017, Zerohash offers embeddable APIs and developer tools that enable financial institutions and fintechs to deliver crypto, stablecoin, and tokenization products.
Its platform supports clients including Interactive Brokers, Stripe, BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, Franklin Templeton and DraftKings, serving more than 5 million users in 190 countries.
Learn more: Mastercard set to weigh on Zerohash investment after ending buyout talks worth billions
