Fireblocks Denies Report of $2.5B Visa Takeover Talks

Fireblocks, the crypto custody and payments infrastructure firm, says it is not in talks to be bought by Visa. The denial came on Thursday, the same day Axios reported that the card giant was in advanced discussions to acquire the company for about $2.5 billion, citing multiple unnamed sources.

A Fireblocks spokesperson responded with a short statement: "We are aware of the rumors about a possible acquisition of Fireblocks by Visa. This is news to us, and not true at present time."

A Denial With a Time Stamp on It

The wording is worth a second look. "News to us" is a clear rejection of the report as it stands. "Not true at present time" is narrower. It says there is no deal on the table today. It does not say there never will be.

Visa has not confirmed the talks. The Axios report itself relies on unnamed sources, so for now the only on-record position belongs to Fireblocks, and that position is no.

Why $2.5 Billion Would Be a Steep Markdown

The reported price is the most striking detail. In January 2022, Fireblocks raised $550 million in a Series E round co-led by D1 Capital Partners and Spark Capital. That round valued the company at more than $8 billion.

A sale at $2.5 billion would be less than a third of that figure. The 2022 round landed near the top of the last crypto funding boom, and private valuations set in that period have often been hard to defend since. Still, a drop of that size would be a notable reset for one of the best-funded firms in crypto infrastructure.

What Visa Would Be Looking At

Fireblocks isn't a consumer wallet. It sells the plumbing that businesses use to move and hold digital assets. The company says it streamlines stablecoin payments, settlement, custody, tokenization and trading operations.

Its client list explains why a payments company might look its way. Fireblocks says thousands of organizations, including Worldpay, BNY Mellon, Galaxy and Revolut, use it across more than 150 blockchains.

Visa and Fireblocks already have a working relationship. The two companies, alongside Cross River, have taken stablecoin rails live for commercial use. Owning the infrastructure outright would be a much bigger step than partnering on it.