Inside stablecoin company BVNK’s journey to a $1.8 billion acquisition by Mastercard
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Long before big-ticket crypto deals and billion-dollar acquisitions make headlines, there’s a long and hard-fought journey, often culminating in a secretive contest where jockeying suitors bid, bluff or walk, until eventually the best match makes it down the aisle.
Key facts
- In the case of BVNK, Concentric’s bet paid off: the VC firm backed the stablecoin startup in 2019 at a valuation of $4 million
- The proverbial cat was set loose among the pigeons when Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion
- During the cut and thrust of the deal formation, U.S.-listed crypto exchange Coinbase was reported to have had the upper hand at one point, potentially offering as much as $2.5 billion for BVNK
- One large payments company working with BVNK rolls its treasury every 24 hours, and now they're using stablecoins to roll it,” he said
Summary
Mastercard recently closed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for $1.8 billion. The deal followed intense competition from Coinbase and Visa, with BVNK ultimately favoring Mastercard over a reportedly higher Coinbase offer because of better cultural fit and strategic alignment. The acquisition underscores how major payments players, including Stripe, Visa, Mastercard and Coinbase, are racing to secure positions in the roughly $300 billion stablecoin market. It’s a process that takes place out of view, under iron-clad non-disclosure agreements, but venture capital firm Concentric — an early investor in BVNK — gave CoinDesk a rare peek behind the curtain, beginning with the startup’s rise and ending with the completion of the deal earlier this week.