developing· Economy· Updated
Visa in Advanced Talks to Acquire Israeli Crypto Firm Fireblocks for $2.5 Billion
American payments giant Visa is reportedly in negotiations to acquire the Israeli digital asset infrastructure company Fireblocks for approximately $2.5 billion. Fireblocks, which was founded in 2017, develops platforms and infrastructure that enable banks, crypto exchanges, and financial institutions to secure, transfer, and manage digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
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What happened
- 01Visa is reportedly in negotiations to acquire Israeli digital asset firm Fireblocks for approximately $2.5 billion.
- 02Fireblocks has denied the acquisition reports, calling the rumors inaccurate and new to the company.
- 03The reported $2.5 billion purchase price is nearly 70 percent lower than Fireblocks' $8 billion valuation in January 2022.
- 04Fireblocks was founded in 2017 by Michael Shaulov, Idan Ofrat, and Pavel Berengletz to provide digital asset infrastructure.
- 05The acquisition would bolster Visa's position in the stablecoin market, following Mastercard's acquisition of British firm BVNK.
- 06Visa previously expanded its Israeli operations by acquiring the fraud detection company BioCatch for $2.4 billion.
Fireblocks has denied the acquisition reports, with a spokesperson stating that the rumors are new to the company and inaccurate at this time. If the transaction does materialize at the reported price, it would represent a decrease of nearly 70 percent from the company's peak valuation of $8 billion, which was set during a $550 million funding round in January 2022.
The potential acquisition would strengthen Visa's presence in the digital payments and stablecoin sector, following a similar move by its competitor Mastercard, which recently acquired the British stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK. The deal would also follow Visa's previous acquisition of the Israeli fraud detection company BioCatch for $2.4 billion.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 3 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: Bizportal. Read Bizportal’s originalThe coverage
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