News

According to ChainCatcher, citing BBX data, yesterday saw a divergence in the crypto infrastructure strategies of traditional payment institutions, with institutions showing clear differences in their views on the ETH and altcoin sectors. Key developments are as follows: Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: $MA) on March 17 signed an acquisition agreement with the UK-based stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK for up to $1.8 billion (including $300 million in performance-based earnout payments). This move directly led Mastercard to abandon its previously progressing strategic investment plan in Zerohash (a privately held company). According to a CoinDesk report on May 19, Mastercard exited negotiations with Zerohash following the BVNK acquisition, and Zerohash is now seeking to launch a new funding round at a valuation of over $1.5 billion (higher than the $1 billion valuation established during its $104 million Series D-2 round in September 2025); Mastercard’s strategic logic in acquiring BVNK lies in BVNK having stablecoin payment infrastructure covering more than 130 countries and a portfolio of international payment licenses that are difficult to rapidly replicate. Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer, Jorn Lambert, stated that their goal is to integrate stablecoins into the core Mastercard Move cross-border payment network, rather than treating it as a peripheral experiment. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: $JPM) analysts, according to a CoinDesk report on May 19, released a new research note indicating that, in the current market environment, Ethereum and the wider altcoin sector will continue to lag behind Bitcoin, mainly due to three structural weaknesses: weak network activity, stagnation in the DeFi ecosystem (Solana TVL has dropped from a 2025 peak of $13.1 billion to around $5.5 billion), and still limited real-world adoption scenarios. The analysts believe that for the altcoin sector to catch up with Bitcoin, a “major outbreak in network activity” is a prerequisite—which for now lacks any visible short-term catalyst.

Glonghui, May 21 — According to Reuters, three industry sources revealed that Airbus has notified some customers that deliveries of the A350 aircraft will be further delayed until later this decade. The main cause of the delivery delays is the continued issues in obtaining key fuselage components from the former Spirit AeroSystems factory in Kinston, North Carolina. Additionally, cargo doors for the new A350 freighter manufactured by Airbus in Spain are also facing some interruptions.

BlockBeats News, May 21st, Morgan Stanley's Global Head of Technology M&A, Wally Cheng, stated that as enterprises rush to fill the technology gap in areas such as chips, power, network, and infrastructure, M&A transactions in the field of artificial intelligence are covering various scales and expanding into multiple industries. Cheng said, "I believe that the deal activity will cover the full spectrum, including private and public companies." Although semiconductor chips that provide computing power for AI are highly valued for their "technological marvel" attribute, the infrastructure around these chips also holds tremendous value, including areas such as network, storage, power, and real estate. Cheng pointed out that valuing the AI industry is still "very challenging" as it requires balancing between the "unicorn with imaginative possibilities and rainbow-colored prospects" and the risks of practical implementation. Tammy Kiely, Senior Managing Director of Evercore's technology investment banking business, also expressed a similar view. She stated that potential acquirers must assess the potential value they can create while weighing the cost of missed opportunities.