Why Mastercard’s $2B move into crypto could end banking hours as we know them

Key takeaways

• Mastercard is in talks to buy Zero Hash, following earlier interest in BVNK, in a push toward 24/7 stablecoin settlement.

• The deals could give Mastercard a turnkey onchain payments stack, accelerating its move from pilot to production.

• Stablecoin-based settlement would let banks and merchants transact continuously, bypassing batch cutoffs and weekend delays.

• Yet operational, compliance and liquidity challenges mean a hybrid phase will likely persist before full 24/7 adoption.

Mastercard is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire crypto infrastructure provider Zero Hash for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion after earlier exploring a similarly sized deal for stablecoin platform BVNK.

Rather than building every onchain component itself, Mastercard appears to be exploring the acquisition of a turnkey stablecoin infrastructure provider that could be plugged into its existing payments network. If that goes ahead, it could accelerate settlement beyond traditional business-day constraints toward a more continuous 24/7/365 model.

What the rumored $2 billion really buys

Zero Hash and BVNK perform similar heavy lifting for institutions. They provide regulated custody, conversions, payouts and the orchestration that enables banks, brokers or processors to move between fiat and stablecoins without rebuilding compliance from scratch.

Folding one or both into Mastercard would accelerate its roadmap from pilot to production, bringing licensing footprints and client integrations on day one. These talks may not be guaranteed to close, but the strategic intent is clear.

Why “banking hours” are starting to fade

Card payments today still reconcile through batch windows, weekday cutoffs and correspondent chains. Stablecoins operate beyond the limits of banking hours. Mastercard has already laid down two key pieces of scaffolding for that world:

• Multi-Token Network (MTN): A toolkit for secure, programmable transactions across tokenized money and assets.

• Crypto Credential: A verification layer that allows exchanges and wallets to transact using human-readable identifiers while maintaining compliance checks.

Add stablecoin settlement to that stack, and acquirers can receive funds at any hour, net obligations onchain and sweep treasuries within minutes instead of T+1 or T+2.

Did you know? In August 2025, Mastercard’s Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa division launched a program with Circle that allows acquirers to settle in USDC (USDC) or EURC (EURC) and pay merchants directly from those balances.

How it would work

A customer pays with a card or linked wallet. Instead of waiting for fiat batches to close, the acquirer can choose to receive settlement in stablecoins. Obligations between issuers and acquirers are then netted onchain through approved custody and liquidity partners.

Treasury teams can then sweep funds in near real time, apply programmable rules for foreign exchange (FX) and fees and convert back to fiat when needed. An acquisition like Zero Hash would provide the custody and payout backbone, while BVNK adds enterprise-grade stablecoin orchestration.

For banks and processors, this translates to fewer vendors to integrate and a faster time to market.

What changes for the ecosystem

For banks and acquirers, always-on settlement reduces prefunding requirements and daylight overdraft exposure while easing weekend and holiday bottlenecks.

However, it also introduces new responsibilities. Onchain surveillance, key management and smart contract risk controls must all meet card network standards.

For merchants and treasurers, continuous settlement via stablecoins can improve working capital efficiency and streamline reconciliation. Some may choose to hold stablecoins for part of their flows, while others will auto-convert to local currency. Either way, transparent onchain records simplify audits and shorten dispute timelines.

For cross-border payments, stablecoins shorten correspondent chains and keep payment corridors open after hours. While they do not remove all FX or tax complexity, they can significantly reduce the mechanical friction that currently makes international payouts slow and unpredictable.

What could still slow the shift to 24/7

24/7 settlement is within reach, but a few hurdles could slow the transition:

• Fiat ramp limits: Automated clearing house and single euro payments area cutoffs, real-time gross settlement maintenance windows and bank compliance sign-offs can reintroduce “business hours” when moving between crypto and cash.

• Operational risk: Key custody, smart contract bugs, chain congestion and reserve or depeg concerns require thorough audits, incident response plans and appropriate insurance coverage.

• Compliance and accounting reality: Always-on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and sanctions checks, Travel Rule requirements, dispute and chargeback handling and enterprise resource planning or reporting workflows must be redesigned for continuous settlement. Many treasurers are still likely to auto-convert to fiat in the early stages.

• Market and vendor constraints: Liquidity can thin out by venue or time of day, and spreads often widen during periods of stress. Stablecoin issuer governance, oracle reliability, custody connectivity and network fees can all become bottlenecks at scale.

In short, expect a hybrid phase where onchain settlement continues to expand as fiat infrastructure, policy and back-office tooling catch up.

What to watch next

A few indicators will reveal whether “banking hours” are fading for good:

• A completed Zero Hash acquisition

• A definitive outcome on the BVNK talks, whether a deal is reached or not and why

• USDC and EURC settlement expanding to new regions and acquirers with meaningful volumes

• MTN and Crypto Credential deployments progressing from pilots to live bank or processor rollouts.

If these pieces fall into place, settlement will begin to follow business needs rather than the clock.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.