Mastercard to acquire stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK

Mastercard agreed to acquire U.K.-based stablecoin platform BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, a deal aimed at speeding digital money transfers. The transaction, announced Tuesday, is subject to regulatory review and is slated to close by year-end.

The payments company plans to connect on-chain payments with its global network to support cross-border transfers, remittances and business-to-business payments. Mastercard expects BVNK's infrastructure to help move value across currencies, payment rails and regions while meeting compliance and security requirements used by financial institutions.

BVNK provides technology that lets businesses send and receive tokenized funds in seconds across more than 130 countries. Its systems, used by firms such as Worldpay, Deel and Flywire, process billions of dollars each year and link blockchain-based payments with traditional fiat systems.

In a company statement, Mastercard's chief product officer, Jorn Lambert, described the plan: “We expect that most financial institutions and fintechs will in time provide digital currency services.” He characterized the objective as bringing “the benefits of tokenized money to the real world.”

For Mastercard, the deal adds to a broader push in digital assets. The company recently launched a Crypto Partner Program with more than 85 companies from the payments and blockchain sectors to connect blockchain technology with mainstream payment infrastructure. Mastercard reported at least $350 billion in stablecoin payment volumes in 2025 and pointed to increasing regulatory clarity as a driver for banks and fintechs to explore tokenized deposits and blockchain-based transfers.

The companies outlined a focus on interoperability between fiat and digital currencies and on controls aligned with the expectations of banks and regulators. No additional financial terms were disclosed beyond the potential price of up to $1.8 billion.

The agreement follows earlier talks BVNK held with Coinbase about a potential $2 billion acquisition that ended several months ago. Coinbase did not give a reason for ending those discussions.