Mastercard Acquires BVNK for Up to $1.8 Billion

Mastercard announced on March 17, 2025, that it has agreed to acquire BVNK, a London-based stablecoin infrastructure provider, for up to $1.8 billion, marking a significant expansion into digital assets for the global payments giant.

The deal, which includes $300 million in contingent payments tied to performance milestones, aims to integrate BVNK's technology with Mastercard's network to facilitate faster, more efficient cross-border payments and other transactions using stablecoins. BVNK, founded in 2021, enables businesses to send and receive payments across more than 130 countries on major blockchain networks, bridging traditional fiat currencies with digital assets like stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar. Its platform processes billions of dollars annually and serves clients including Worldpay, Deel, and Flywire.

The acquisition follows the collapse of negotiations between BVNK and Coinbase Global last November, when talks for a roughly $2 billion purchase ended without a clear reason provided by the cryptocurrency exchange. Mastercard had also explored acquiring other stablecoin firms, such as Zerohash, though those discussions did not advance.