Zerohash Gains Permission for EU Embedded Crypto and Stablecoin Services

Cryptocurrency and stablecoin infrastructure startup zerohash received permission to offer regulated crypto-asset and stablecoin infrastructure services across the European Economic Area.

The company said in a Monday (Nov. 3) press release that zerohash europe gained this permission in the form of authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) framework from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets.

With this authorization, zerohash europe received explicit permission to provide customers with B2B2C embedded crypto and stablecoin services, according to the release.

“Securing MiCAR authorization is a major step in our mission to make digital assets accessible in a safe, trusted way,” Edward Woodford, founder and CEO of the zerohash group, said in the release. “We are excited to continue to accelerate our vision that blockchain technology, which underpins digital assets and stablecoins, will become integral to financial institutions.”

The company already has a regulatory and licensing footprint in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Australia and much of Latin America, according to the release.

“Europe’s move to formalize crypto-asset and stablecoin regulations is generating real momentum for widespread adoption,” Roeland Goldberg, zerohash europe management board member, said in the release. “With regulatory clarity in place, the leading banks, FinTechs and payments platforms are actively exploring stablecoins, tokenization and stablecoin issuance, as well as embedded crypto rails.”

It was reported Wednesday (Oct. 29) that Mastercard is close to acquiring zerohash, with the companies being in late-stage talks on a $1.5 billion to $2 billion deal, although it could still fall through. Reached by PYMNTS at the time, zerohash and Mastercard declined to comment on the report.

In September, zerohash announced that it raised $104 million in new funding in a Series D-2 round to speed its product expansion and hire new talent. The company said at the time in a press release that the round happened amid a surge in demand for enterprise-grade on-chain infrastructure, triggered by a boom in consumer adoption and new regulatory clarity in the U.S. and Europe.

On Sept. 23, it was reported that zerohash will power the upcoming addition of cryptocurrency trading to the platform of E-Trade, the online stock trading arm of Morgan Stanley.