Blockchain infrastructure firm Zerohash is in talks to raise $250 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The company recently pulled out of acquisition talks with Mastercard, CoinDesk reported, though the payments giant is still considering a strategic investment in Zerohash, and discussions remain ongoing.
The raise comes amid rising demand for enterprise-grade crypto infrastructure, as more financial institutions move to offer tokenized assets, stablecoins and onchain settlement at scale.
Zerohash didn’t respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. The amount could change as discussions are still ongoing.
Fortune reported in October that Mastercard was in late-stage talks to acquire Zerohash in a deal that could value the possible takeover candidate at up to $2 billion.
Zerohash raised $104 million in an October Series D-2 round led by Interactive Brokers, valuing the firm at $1 billion.
That round brought in new investors, including Morgan Stanley, Apollo-managed funds, SoFi, Jump Crypto, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, FTMO, IMC and Liberty City Ventures, alongside existing backers PEAK6, tastytrade and Nyca Partners, the company said at the time.
Founded in 2017, Zerohash offers APIs and embeddable developer tools that allow financial institutions and fintechs to deliver crypto, stablecoin and tokenization products.
Its platform supports clients including Interactive Brokers, Stripe, BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, Franklin Templeton and DraftKings, serving more than 5 million users in 190 countries.
Read more: Mastercard said to weigh Zerohash investment after ending takeover talks worth billions