Mastercard Bets Big on Stablecoins to Bridge Crypto and Traditional Payments

Mastercard is buying London-based stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for up to US$1.8 billion (AU$2.57 billion), deepening its move into blockchain-based payments as large payment companies race to build stablecoin rails.

The deal is expected to close in late 2026. It includes US$1.5 billion (AU$2.15 billion) upfront and as much as US$300 million (AU$429 million) in additional payments tied to performance targets.

BVNK provides businesses with tools to send, receive, store, and convert stablecoins in more than 130 countries. 

The company processed more than US$30 billion (AU$42.9 billion) in stablecoin payments in 2025 and generated about US$40 million (AU$57.2 million) in revenue as of late 2024, showing that Mastercard is paying for long-term infrastructure rather than near-term earnings.

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What Analysts Are Saying

Analysts at Mizuho Securities and TD Cowen said the acquisition is aimed at expanding Mastercard’s role in payments, not protecting its card business from immediate disruption. 

Their view is that stablecoins are likely to grow fastest in areas where card networks are less dominant, including business-to-business payments, cross-border transfers, and payouts for creators and gig workers. 

William Blair took a similar view, arguing that stablecoins are gaining more traction in cross-border commerce than in consumer card payments.

Not all analysts agreed. According to The Block, Harvey Li of Tokenization Insight said card networks remain among the payment rails most exposed to stablecoin competition, suggesting the BVNK purchase is at least partly defensive.

Stablecoin Race

The acquisition comes as traditional finance firms increase their spending on stablecoin infrastructure.

Stripe bought rival platform Bridge for US$1.1 billion (AU$1.57 billion), while PayPal expanded stablecoin payments to 70 countries on the same day Mastercard announced the BVNK transaction. Stablecoin transfer volume reached US$27.6 trillion (AU$39.5 trillion) in 2025, more than the combined payment volume of Visa and Mastercard.

Mastercard has also expanded its broader crypto strategy through a Crypto Partner Program with more than 85 companies and partnerships with MetaMask and Gemini on crypto-linked card products. 

Mastercard and Coinbase had both held talks to acquire BVNK at a valuation of up to US$2.5 billion (AU$3.58 billion) before Coinbase withdrew. Visa was also an earlier investor in BVNK.

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