Mastercard Completes $1.8 Billion Acquisition of Stablecoin Infrastructure Firm BVNK

Mastercard has completed its $1.8 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK, marking a major move to integrate traditional fiat networks with the on-chain economy. The deal positions Mastercard to leverage BVNK's regulatory licenses, including European MiCA authorization, and its $30 billion in annualized payment volume. This acquisition intensifies competition with Visa, which is piloting stablecoin settlements with Stripe's Bridge, and aligns with Mastercard's participation in the upcoming Open USD stablecoin consortium.

Mastercard acquisition of BVNK

• ▪BVNK secured MiCA authorization in February 2026 and holds an electronic money institution license covering European markets.
• ▪The acquisition of BVNK by Mastercard is valued at $1.8 billion, consisting of a $1.5 billion valuation and a $300 million earnout.
• ▪Mastercard first announced its agreement to acquire BVNK on March 17, 2026.
• ▪Mastercard completed its acquisition of London-based stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK on August 3, 2026.

Stablecoin cross-border payment infrastructure

• ▪BVNK natively processes incoming deposits and outgoing payments in XRP through its multichain system and has partnered with Ripple since 2024.
• ▪BVNK processes approximately $300 billion in stablecoin market value globally and handles roughly $30 billion in annualized payment volume.
• ▪BVNK supports more than 150 currencies across 200 countries and territories, enabling businesses to convert, hold, and move fiat and digital money.

Visa competitive stablecoin initiatives

• ▪Visa continues to fund its own stablecoin settlement pilots in parallel to compete in the digital asset infrastructure market.
• ▪Visa is testing a stablecoin settlement pilot in partnership with Stripe's stablecoin technology subsidiary Bridge.

Open USD stablecoin consortium

• ▪Open Standard, a consortium backed by banks and legacy payment companies including Mastercard and Visa, plans to launch a dollar-backed stablecoin named Open USD.
• ▪The Open USD stablecoin is scheduled to launch later in 2026 to improve the fragmented cross-border payments market.

Enterprise digital asset demand

• ▪According to research from American Banker, 47% of surveyed banks reported that clients were asking for general information about cryptocurrency.
• ▪Stablecoins accounted for $135 billion out of $44 trillion in total cross-border payments in 2025, representing 0.31% of the market.
• ▪According to research from American Banker, 35% of surveyed banks reported that clients requested the ability to make payments using cryptocurrencies.