Fireblocks has rejected a report that Visa is in advanced discussions to acquire the institutional crypto custody and stablecoin infrastructure company for approximately $2.5 billion, saying the proposed transaction was “news to us” and “not true at present time.”
The denial, reported by The Block and attributed to a statement from Fireblocks, followed an Axios report that cited multiple sources and said the companies were close to reaching an agreement. If completed, the transaction would have represented Visa’s first acquisition in the stablecoin sector and ranked among the largest deals in the history of the crypto industry.
Fireblocks rejects acquisition report
The reported valuation would be substantially below Fireblocks’ $8 billion valuation in January 2022. That figure was established when the company raised $550 million in a Series E financing round, during the peak of the venture-capital cycle.
Fireblocks was founded in 2018 by Michael Shaulov, Pavel Berengoltz and Idan Ofrat, who came from Israel’s cybersecurity industry. The company provides infrastructure used by banks, exchanges and financial-technology companies to custody and transfer digital assets. In practical terms, its technology serves as institutional plumbing for moving and safeguarding cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-based assets.
The company says its platform has secured trillions of dollars in transfers across more than 150 blockchains. Its customers include BNY Mellon, Worldpay, Revolut and Galaxy. Fireblocks also powers institutional bitcoin trading for FIS and supports digital-asset custody at BNP Paribas. It is among the founding members of the Botanix federation, a project connected with a bitcoin sidechain.
The reported $2.5 billion price would also have placed the potential deal behind Coinbase’s $2.9 billion purchase of Deribit in 2025 and Naver Financial’s pending $10.3 billion transaction for the parent company of Upbit, according to the source material. Fireblocks’ statement means that the reported talks have not been confirmed by the company.
Payment companies compete for crypto infrastructure
The report emerged as major payment networks have been pursuing companies that provide stablecoin and digital-asset infrastructure. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, commonly against a fiat currency such as the US dollar. Their use in payments and settlement depends on the systems that issue, store, transfer and convert them.
Mastercard agreed in March to acquire BVNK for as much as $1.8 billion. That deal closed in August, after Mastercard’s takeover discussions with Zerohash ended without an agreement. Mastercard also obtained a New York BitLicense during that period. Zerohash is separately seeking a US national trust bank charter.
Visa has also expanded its activity in the sector. In August, it partnered with Zerohash to add stablecoin funding and payouts to Visa Direct. In September, Visa said its stablecoin settlement volume had reached a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times the level reported a year earlier.
Visa and Mastercard are both members of a coalition of more than 140 companies supporting Open USD, a dollar stablecoin intended to broaden participation in a market described in the source material as worth $300 billion, beyond the dominant positions of Tether and Circle.
Fireblocks’ stablecoin push and market picture
Fireblocks launched its own stablecoin payments network in September 2025 with more than 40 participants, including Circle, Bridge, Zerohash and Yellow Card. During 2026, it introduced tools enabling neobanks to accept stablecoins and a settlement suite designed for AI agents.
Those initiatives help explain why Fireblocks has become relevant to the broader competition over digital-asset payment rails, regardless of the status of the reported Visa discussions. The company’s business is focused on infrastructure used by institutions, while Visa’s reported interest would have connected that infrastructure with one of the world’s largest payment networks. Fireblocks’ denial leaves the reported transaction unconfirmed.
Moneyiar market data at 23:38 on October 22, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $81,208.783536513, down 3.61% over 24 hours and 1.11% over seven days. Tagger was priced at $0.000459376, down 6.99% in 24 hours and 18.34% over seven days. AKEDO stood at $0.0313448356, up 30.96% over 24 hours but down 6.16% over seven days. Billions Network was quoted at $0.0139971939, down 0.59% over 24 hours and up 10.04% over seven days; that reading was timestamped September 21, 2026, at 01:39 +03:30.
