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On October 22, 2026, Fireblocks issued an official statement to refute information published by the daily Axios claiming that the company was in advanced stages of negotiations to be acquired by Visa. The original report indicated that the potential deal would have an estimated value of nearly $2.5 billion. The cryptocurrency custody specialist defined the news as untrue at this time, specifying that these are new and unconfirmed rumors. Fireblocks specified that no negotiations are underway with the digital payments giant.
Why it matters
The episode fits into a context of growing interest from major traditional financial sector players towards stablecoin infrastructure. Visa launched a collaboration with Zerohash in August 2026 to support stablecoin payments via the Visa Direct platform, while Mastercard closed the acquisition of BVNK in the same month, a provider of similar infrastructure that had previously been subject to interest from Coinbase. Fireblocks’ denial comes also after anonymous sources cited by CoinDesk had indicated Coinbase as another potential acquirer, a hypothesis officially denied by the company itself. This dynamic highlights competition among major payment networks to acquire key technologies in digital asset management.
The numbers
Sources agree on the presumed value of the refuted deal: nearly $2.5 billion. Regarding the operational context, Fireblocks raised $550 million in its latest funding round (Series E). The company, founded in 2018 and based on multi-party computation technologies for key security, had a previous public valuation of $8 billion recorded in January 2022. Recently, in September 2025, Fireblocks launched a stablecoin payment network that counts over 40 active participants, including Circle, Bridge, and Zerohash. Mastercard agreed on a maximum price of $1.8 billion for the acquisition of BVNK, including $300 million in contingent payments.
What remains to be understood
It has not been clarified whether preliminary negotiations existed in the past or if the denial concerns exclusively the current state of negotiations. Visa refused to publicly comment on the rumors reported by media, leaving uncertainty open regarding the motivations behind such silence. Furthermore, it remains to be verified whether Coinbase’s refusal to comment is definitive or if there were informal contacts not officially confirmed. The lack of details on any previous phases of discussions makes it difficult to assess the historical veracity of the initial reports.
Sources: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Bitcoin Magazine, Unchained.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or an investment recommendation.
* Content created with the assistance of artificial intelligence systems.