Mastercard to acquire stablecoin firm BVNK for up to $1.8B

By Vivian Nguyen · Published March 17, 2026 · 2 min read · Source: Crypto Briefing

Mastercard to acquire stablecoin firm BVNK for up to $1.8B

The payment giant seeks to enable faster, programmable, and highly secure digital transactions across multiple chains, accelerating the adoption of on-chain payments.

Add us on Google by Vivian Nguyen Mar. 17, 2026

Global financial services giant Mastercard announced Tuesday it has reached a deal to buy BVNK, a stablecoin payment infrastructure provider, for up to $1.8 billion. The acquisition will integrate BVNK’s platform with Mastercard’s global network, creating seamless connections between fiat and stablecoins.

Mastercard expects that stablecoins and tokenized deposits will become standard offerings for financial institutions and fintechs. The company plans to provide a robust and compliant framework to support these services, bridging digital currencies with traditional financial systems.

“This acquisition reinforces what we have always done, using innovation and technology to power economies and empower people. Adding on-chain rails to our network will support speed and programmability for virtually every type of transaction,” Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer, said in a statement.

Customers will gain access to innovative solutions for cross-border remittances, B2B payments, and tokenized assets. The combined capabilities aim to deliver secure, compliant, and chain-agnostic payment options at scale.

Mastercard had been exploring the acquisition of BVNK for some time. In October 2025, it was reported that Mastercard and Coinbase were in talks to acquire the stablecoin infrastructure company for $2 billion.

However, Coinbase later chose to withdraw from the planned acquisition.

BVNK’s technology has gained recognition among leading financial institutions, with investments by Citigroup’s venture arm and partnerships with Visa.

The deal is expected to close before year-end, subject to regulatory approval.

“For all of the advancements made in simplifying the digital currency opportunity, we have only scratched the surface of what’s possible,” BVNK CEO Jesse Hemson-Struthers stated. “This deal brings together complementary capabilities to define and deliver the future of money. Together, we’re able to deliver an unprecedented infrastructure for digital currency-based financial services.”

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