Fireblocks on Thursday, October 22, denied an Axios report that Visa (NYSE: V) is in late-stage talks to buy the crypto custody and stablecoin infrastructure firm for around $2.5 billion.
The Brief
- Fireblocks rejected the report of a roughly $2.5 billion Visa takeover and said it was not true at the present time.
- Visa declined to comment on the report and said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.
- Visa said last month that its stablecoin settlement volume had passed a $20 billion annualized run rate.
- Mastercard closed its purchase of stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK in August, in a deal worth up to $1.8 billion.
Fireblocks denial carries a time limit
Fireblocks said in a statement to The Block that it was aware of the rumors, calling them “news to us, and not true at present time.” A Visa spokesperson declined to comment and pointed to the company’s standing policy on rumors and speculation.
The original report cited multiple sources and described the talks as late-stage. Fireblocks rejected it for the present, while Visa neither confirmed nor disputed it. Neither company has announced a deal.
The reported price sits far below the $8 billion valuation Fireblocks reached in January 2022. That mark came with a $550 million Series E round. The company, founded in 2018, builds custody and infrastructure tools for institutions that hold digital assets.
A transaction at that size would still rank among the largest acquisitions in crypto history. It would trail Coinbase’s $2.9 billion purchase of derivatives exchange Deribit in 2025. Naver Financial’s pending all-stock deal for Upbit parent Dunamu, valued at around $10.3 billion, also sits higher.
BREAKING: Visa aims for a big crypto expansion, in talks to buy Fireblocks for $2.5B — Axios • 2,000+ clients including BNY and Revolut • NYDFS-regulated qualified custodian 👉 TradFi is coming for the Bitcoin & crypto industry! https://t.co/lL9rc7p40Q
— Bitcoin Archive (@BitcoinArchive) October 22, 2026
Visa already works with a Fireblocks network member
Visa has spent recent months building out its own stablecoin business. In August, it partnered with Zerohash to support stablecoin funding and payouts through Visa Direct.
Zerohash is also a participant in the stablecoin payments network Fireblocks launched in September 2025. That network counts more than 40 participants, including Circle, Bridge and Yellow Card.
Visa later disclosed that its stablecoin settlement volume had grown more than 15 times year over year. Rival Mastercard (NYSE: MA) took the acquisition route instead. It agreed in March to buy BVNK, with $300 million of the price tied to contingent payments, and completed the deal in August.
Why It Matters?
That overlap gives the reported talks a clear commercial logic. Owning Fireblocks could hand Visa custody technology along with a working roster of stablecoin counterparties. Mastercard paid for similar solution when it bought BVNK.
Two questions remain unanswered in public. Were there ever talks at any stage, and does the “at present time” wording leave room for a different answer later? For institutions that hold assets with Fireblocks or settle through its network, nothing has changed, since no transaction has been announced.
For now, the public record holds one denial with a time limit attached and one no-comment.
