Fireblocks denies report it is in talks to be bought by Visa for $2.5 billion

Fireblocks says a Visa deal is 'not true at present time'

Crypto custody company Fireblocks has denied a report that it is in talks to be bought by payments giant Visa for $2.5 billion.

The denial came soon after Axios published a story, based on multiple unnamed sources, saying the two companies were in late-stage talks about a deal.

A Fireblocks spokesperson said the company had heard the rumors and that the reported talks were "news to us, and not true at present time."

What the reports said

• Axios reported that Fireblocks and Visa were in late-stage acquisition talks, citing multiple sources it did not name.
• The reported price was $2.5 billion.
• Visa did not respond to requests for comment from CoinDesk.
• CoinDesk reported that unnamed sources had been talking about a possible sale of Fireblocks for three or four weeks before the Axios story.

What Fireblocks does

Fireblocks is a custody firm, meaning it holds and safeguards crypto assets for clients. It uses security methods such as multi-party computation, or MPC, in which the secret keys needed to move funds are split into pieces so no single party holds the whole key.

The reported price would be well below its 2022 valuation

The $2.5 billion figure in the Axios report is far below the value assigned to Fireblocks in 2022. That year, the company raised $550 million at an $8 billion valuation.

CoinDesk noted that the reported price would represent a sharp drop in value compared with that 2022 round. The source material does not explain the reason for any change in valuation.

Coinbase was also named by unnamed sources, then denied it

Before the Axios report, unnamed sources had told CoinDesk that Coinbase, the U.S.-listed crypto exchange, was also seen as a possible buyer of Fireblocks.

After CoinDesk's article was published, Coinbase denied it was involved in any possible transaction. CoinDesk added that denial to its story in an update.

What is confirmed and what is not

Confirmed: Fireblocks publicly denied that talks with Visa are happening, using the wording above. Coinbase publicly denied involvement. Visa has not commented.

Not confirmed: whether any talks took place or are taking place, who the unnamed sources are, and whether any deal of any size exists. The $2.5 billion figure comes only from Axios's unnamed sources and has not been confirmed by either company.

Fireblocks' denial was worded "not true at present time," which speaks to the current situation as the company describes it.

Why this drew attention

Crypto custody is the part of the industry that holds clients' digital assets, so deals involving custody firms matter to the institutions that rely on them. Fireblocks is a well-known name in that area, and the earlier $8 billion valuation made the reported $2.5 billion price notable. Visa's reported interest also follows a pattern of traditional payments and finance companies looking at crypto infrastructure, though the source material does not detail Visa's plans.

Sources

• CoinDesk: Crypto custody specialist Fireblocks denies it's in talks to be acquired by Visa