A high-stakes bidding war appears to be brewing between crypto exchange Coinbase and payments giant Mastercard over the acquisition of BVNK, the London-based fintech firm building enterprise-grade stablecoin payment infrastructure.
Competition to acquire BVNK
According to reports, both companies are in advanced negotiations, with BVNK potentially valued between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion.
Sources familiar with the matter suggest that Coinbase currently leads the bidding ahead of Mastercard, though the deal has not yet been finalised.
If completed, it would represent one of the largest-ever transactions involving a stablecoin infrastructure company — signalling how deeply mainstream financial players are now investing in digital currency rails.
Bridging Traditional Finance and Digital Assets
BVNK’s technology enables businesses to send and receive payments using stablecoins, cryptocurrencies that are typically pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar or the euro.
By combining digital asset settlement with access to existing payment networks, BVNK provides a bridge between the crypto ecosystem and regulated financial institutions.
As a licensed electronic money institution (EMI) in the UK and Europe, BVNK offers named IBANs in EUR and GBP and connectivity to SEPA, SEPA Instant and Faster Payments.
The company already processes more than $20 billion annually for global enterprises and payment service providers, including Worldpay, Flywire and dLocal.
The firm’s infrastructure has also attracted increasing attention from major financial institutions.
Earlier this year, Citi Ventures, the venture arm of Citi, announced a strategic investment in BVNK, joining other high-profile backers such as Visa. The investment underscored Citi’s growing interest in stablecoin applications for institutional settlement and on-chain finance.
Strategic Stakes for Coinbase and Mastercard
For Coinbase, acquiring BVNK would strengthen its ambitions to expand beyond retail crypto trading and into institutional-grade payments and settlement.
The exchange has been steadily diversifying its business model, building compliant infrastructure that could position it as a key player in the next phase of blockchain-based finance.
For Mastercard, the acquisition would represent a significant step in integrating stablecoin technology into its global payments network.
The company has already piloted several blockchain initiatives and sees stablecoins as a potential backbone for future cross-border and merchant payments.
A successful bid would align with Mastercard’s strategy to evolve from a card-centric network to a broader digital payments ecosystem.
A Milestone Moment for Stablecoins
The competition for BVNK comes amid explosive growth in stablecoin adoption.
According to Visa data, stablecoins processed $27 trillion in transaction volume across 1.25 billion transactions in 2024 — a dramatic indication of their growing utility in global finance.
Whether Coinbase or Mastercard prevails, the potential acquisition of BVNK would mark a watershed moment for the integration of stablecoin infrastructure into mainstream financial systems, bringing digital money one step closer to everyday use by businesses and consumers alike.
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